


A Tempest of Ash

by MiriB



Series: Young Justice Expanded Universe [1]
Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Complete, Fix-It, Gen, Post-Endgame, Post-Season/Series 02, Post-Season/Series Finale, Suspense, Time Travel, Wally West is Alive
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-13
Updated: 2016-01-29
Packaged: 2018-03-30 09:07:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 25,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3931099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiriB/pseuds/MiriB
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Wally didn't die when the chrysalis' energy attacked him. His family thought he did. His friends thought he did. Even he thought he did. But Bart didn't. Bart knew what really happened.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. O Brave New World

**Author's Note:**

> Sentences in italics are thoughts. Any mid sentence italics are for placing emphasis. POV should be obvious from the first sentence/paragraph of each section.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wally had just died. So when he woke up and found himself alone in the Arctic, he was rightly confused. Where were his friends and family? And why was ash falling from the sky!?

** Chapter 1 – O Brave New World **

Wally's first conscious thought was of how hungry he was. His second was of the cold that enveloped him, like every cell in his body was freezing up. Naturally, his third thought was of ice cream.

At a pace that was not fast enough for the speedster, his memories came to him.

_I was running..._

_With Uncle Barry... And Bart..._

He had been slower than them. Too slow… As he remembered the final words he'd spoken to his Uncle, his eyes flung open.

He was staring at the sky. At least, he thought it was the sky. It was a lot greyer then it had been and what looked like ash was slowly falling down.

_Am I dead?  
_

Instinctively, he began to move his arms and legs, tentatively stretching them, seeing if anything was broken. He felt the snow around him as he slowly stood and held his head which had begun to spin from the movement.

_What happened?  
_

_Where am I?  
_

_Is this still the North Pole?  
_

_Where is everyone!?  
_

"Uncle Barry!" he called.

The wind lifted his words and carried them away, but no response came back to him.

"Bart!"

Still the world around him was silent except for the wind that blew the ash around him.

He was alone and he was confused, but more importantly he was starving. He took a step, still not convinced he was real, that he was alive. He took another. And then he was running. And he was running fast. He still had his speed. Was he truly alive? Had he really somehow survived? He wanted to laugh, he wanted to cry, but then he remembered.

Where had everyone gone?

Where was Artemis?

The rest of the team?

The League?

All those unanswered questions made his head spin and he thought of how hungry he was.

"Where the hell am I supposed to find food in the freaking North Pole!?" he thought out loud.

So he kept on running. The ash was still falling all around him and whipping into his face as he made his way to the nearest Zeta-Tube, but when he reached where it was supposed to be his heart sank. There was nothing there. Not even a remnant. What the hell was going on!?

That was when he remembered his com.

"Flash come in!" Static was his response.

"Artemis!" Still nothing.

"Nightwing! Aqualad! Supey! Anyone!" But again, no one replied. He was still alone. He was still confused. And he was still hungry!

So he took off running again, hoping he was heading in the direction of civilisation, hoping there was some logical explanation for what was going on.

* * *

For a long while Wally had been surrounded by ice and snow as he made his way south but suddenly that all changed. All around him was a desolate sight; rocky plains stretched for miles without any sign of civilisation or greenery. He was pretty sure he was somewhere in Canada when he finally stopped. It was the remains of what was probably a small city at one point that bought him to a standstill. The taller buildings had toppled over each other and all of the smaller ones he could see had been damaged in one way or another. The sight scared him. What had happened to the world? Despite how far he'd run the sky was still grey and ash continued to fall at a hauntingly slow pace. He felt like he was the last person on the planet, standing amongst the grey and the ruins in his bright red and yellow suit. He suddenly wanted to change his clothes.

On account of his stomach growling at him, Wally made the decision to enter the city to search for food… and some new clothes. As he wandered through the deserted streets he heard thunder roll off in the distance making him jump slightly. It was the first sound he'd heard that hadn't been the wind or his own footsteps since he'd woken up.

"This is all just too freaky," he said to himself as though talking out loud would make the hairs on the back of his neck stop standing up.

He was beginning to feel dizzy, he really need to find some food and fast.

He came across a partially destroyed building that he thought was once a convenience store. As he entered he had to wonder what he'd really expected. He found just two cans of beans buried under some rubble he happened to kick away. It gave him a small sense of hope that the place had already been ransacked – maybe, just maybe, there were more people out there. Maybe he wasn't alone.

He opened one of the cans and gulped it down in regular Wally fashion before looking longingly at the second – he decided it would probably be best to save it since he didn't know how hard it would be to find more food. He got up and moved on.

Locating clothes was a much easier task. He found a store only a block away that had what he needed. He grabbed some grey jeans, a shirt, shoes and a black hoodie – the darker the better he figured. He also picked up a backpack – it would probably come in handy. Luck was on his side as he also found some more food tucked away in the back room of the store. It wasn't much, but it kept his hope up.

The deserted city was starting to terrify him. He hadn't seen a single person but couldn't shake the strange sensation that he wasn't alone. So he decided on his next move – if he was going to figure out what was going on, he needed answers, needed to see the state of the rest of the world.

He took off running. His destination: Central City.

* * *

Wally passed many towns and cities on his trip south, all as desolate as the last. He entered just a few to look for supplies but mostly he'd stopped paying attention to them along with the never ending grey skies and the ash that just wouldn't stop falling. He didn't want anything to cloud his hope that maybe, just maybe, Central was ok. The he'd arrive and find his family alive and well. That they'd welcome him with open arms and tell him everything was alright. But that wasn't the case. He skidded to a halt, still over a mile from the city. Above it was something he'd hoped to never see again: a Reach ship.

He didn't understand. They'd stopped the invasion. They'd stopped the Reach-apocalypse. Hadn't they? The more 'answers' he found, the more confused he became.

A thought he'd been holding back finally pushed its way to the forefront of his mind. What about his family? Were they in this city? A part of him hoped they weren't. And really, from the state of things, he probably shouldn't call it a city at all. The destruction here was a whole lot worse than the place he'd first encountered back in Canada. He could feel the hope he'd been desperately clinging to start to melt away leaving him with the horrible reality before him. But he didn't let it stop him. He ran on, straight into the city.

And in hindsight that was the dumbest move he'd ever made.

He almost immediately ran into a Reach patrol and had to scurry back around a corner – the streets were clearly not safe.

With a lot more caution he took off running again – heading for his parent's house. Well, what used to be his parent's house. There wasn't even a trace that anything had ever been built on that street and it stung Wally's heart. He wanted to keel over, curl up into a ball, and then maybe he'd wake up from this nightmare. But he couldn't. He wouldn't.

He checked the other houses of people he knew and all were either deserted or destroyed. To stop himself from completely falling apart, he figured he should run to another city. Gotham or Star maybe, but that plan didn't work out. Every which way he ran he saw Reach patrols. He couldn't make it out of this particular section of the city. He wondered how he'd even managed to make it in. So he came up with an idea he knew he'd regret and headed down into the sewers.

And yes, he instantly regretted it. Despite the post-apocalyptic world upstairs, the sewers were still the sewers. He trudged along, heading in some vague direction he hoped would lead him out of the city, trying to ignore the fear that he would get incredibly lost.

By some strange miracle he found an exit on the edge of the city. Well, it wasn't so much an exit as the rest of the sewer didn't exist anymore. The opening was overgrown with weeds and he could hear the wind howling outside – it had picked up at some point and he could also hear thunder rolling in the distance.

He pulled down some of the weeds and looked out, seeing the grey still stretching endlessly across the sky. The wind pulled a new sound to his ears; it was almost, but not quite, like the sounds of a construction site. He couldn't see the source of the noise, so against his better judgement, he pulled down more of the weeds to get a better look. He seemed to be up on a cliff but from his position he couldn't really be sure so he dashed over to a formation of rocks that hid his presence effectively while he looked over the edge. What he saw down below made his breath hitch.

Humans. The first he'd seen since he woke up in the North Pole. Some seemed to be scavenging through an assortment of things Wally couldn't quite see while others carried items about. It was then that he realised where he actually was – not outside of the city, but on the edge of it, where many buildings used to stand; these humans were sorting through the rubble.

Directly below him he saw a kid who couldn't be more than 13 stumbling along carrying a computer of some sort. He spotted what appeared to be an inhibitor collar around his neck piquing his curiosity enough to keep watching this particular kid. He looked weak, and as Wally pondered this, the kid's feet gave way beneath him making him fall to his knees. Wally could see he was struggling to suck in each breath he took. That's when he had the biggest fright of his life – Blue Beetle. Except, this wasn't the Blue Beetle he knew, this one was a whole lot bigger and meaner looking. He had appeared out of nowhere.

"On your feet slave!" he barked before firing a warning shot

The kid's face scrunched up in fear as the edge of the blast scratched his arms and face but then he relaxed and lifted his head to look at his tormentor. It made Wally think the kid had tremendous courage.

And that was the moment everything clicked into place.

Wally silently kicked himself for not realising it all earlier – how had he not recognised that mop of brown hair below him! But, really, who would have instantly seen _that_ person? Not when he was buried beneath the tattered clothes, the dirt and a face so hollow it rattled Wally though he wouldn't admit it.

His thoughts were interrupted by Blue Beetle's snarling voice saying, "don't make me tell you again."

But as the kid stood up, his arms no longer had the necessary strength to pull the computer along with him. Before he could flop to the ground again Blue Beetle struck him across the face sending him flying. None of the surrounding people even flinched and Wally thought to himself that that was the scariest thing he'd seen so far.

The kid tried to get up again but he was at his limit. He stayed lying on the ground and Wally watched as his eyes slid closed; he was out cold. Blue Beetle walked over to where the kid was lying, changing his plasma cannon to a scythe.

"Meat. You're all so weak," he spat as he loomed above the kid.

Wally couldn't stand by doing nothing anymore. The realisation of what had happened to him had sent him into a momentary state of shock, but it had also cleared his mind and he knew what he had to do. So he left the safety of the rocks on the cliff side and ran. He ran down to where the kid was lying and scooped him up in his arms and at the fastest speed he could manage he ran back up the cliff and back into the sewers. He didn't have enough time to think of any other places they could go.

As Wally ran further into the sewers, he looked down at the kid in his arms. Bart. It was definitely Bart. He still couldn't quite believe it.

Was this really the future?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that’s that: the first chapter to my first fanfiction ever! I hope you enjoyed it but as it’s my first time doing this please forgive any OOC-ness or general terribleness. If you feel the need to review, please do, all constructive criticism is welcome and appreciated.
> 
> And I have some good and bad news: the good news is that in 4 weeks I’ll be on holidays meaning I will have heaps of time to work on this fic and update regularly! The bad news is that I probably won’t get to update before then because of all the assessment I have due.
> 
> But don’t worry, I hate leaving things unfinished, and I have a fairly solid plan for this story (but any suggestions are definitely welcome so please, if you have some constructive criticism or suggestions do speak up!)
> 
> Well then, good bye for the next month!


	2. But This Swift Business I Must Uneasy Make

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bart woke up and found himself in the sewers with an unfamiliar, red haired man. A situation that didn't make sense, but that was probably, almost certainly bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to quickly mention before this chapter that you might think Bart’s a bit OOC, but to me the Bart that’s in the future is different to the Bart that’s in the past so I’ve written him how I think he would have been before ‘getting into character’ and going to the past. Hopefully it’s not bad.

**Chapter 2 – But This Swift Business I Must Uneasy Make**

A familiar sensation woke Bart, one he detested. It was the feeling of the electric shock on his inhibitor collar going off. He only let out a small cry of pain as he'd learnt a long time ago that making excessive amounts of noise would draw attention and too much attention was never a good thing.

The pain cut off as quickly as it had started leaving Bart somewhat numb, but then he heard something that confused him.

"I'msosorryI'msosorryohmygodareyouokI'msosorry!"

The words all blurred together in a jumbled mess that Bart could barely comprehend. Someone was sorry? That was new. He could feel something tugging at the collar around his neck so he gave in to curiosity and dragged his heavy eyes open.

The first thing he realised was that he wasn't outside anymore; never a good sign. He looked over to his left and saw something that was definitely not a good sign. Some man with red hair was fiddling with his inhibitor collar but stopped when he noticed Bart was looking at him. As Bart struggled to sit up the strange man grabbed him by the shoulders and he was… smiling? Nobody smiled anymore. There was definitely something suspicious about this guy.

"You're awake! Thank goodness, I was so worried when I set off the collar, I thought, you know, you might die or something." The man rattled out the words in an odd fashion, like he was embarrassed to admit he cared about Bart not dying.

And then Bart had a dreadful thought. This man wasn't one of _those_ people was he? He pushed the hands off his shoulders and shuffled away from the stranger. As he took in their surroundings, his whole body tensed – they were in the sewers.

"Hey, look, calm down. I did just save you back there. We need to get that collar off you, do you know how?"

The words didn't really register to Bart. All he could think about was that the man stood between him and the only way out of this dark corner they were in. And it terrified him. He silently cursed his body as it shook in fear.

"Hey, you're alright, calm down."

The man reached out to Bart but he swatted the hand away.

"Bart, just listen to me."

And that was it. Bart was officially freaked out.

How the hell did this strange man know his name? He didn't want to find out.

He scrambled to his feet, and with all the strength he could muster, Bart punched the man in the face. It must have taken him by surprise because, despite how weak the punch was, he fell over.

Taking the opportunity, Bart ran. He had to get out of the sewers.

* * *

Exhaustion and pain were starting to get the better of Bart when he finally found a ladder leading to an exit that wasn't blocked off from the destruction overhead. New bruises were beginning to form on top of old ones because of the beating Blue Beetle had given him. He didn't know how much further he could go before he would collapse.

Nonetheless, he was thankful to discover it was night time when he arrived outside – it would be much easier to avoid the Reach in the dark.

_Now what am I supposed to do?_

Many thoughts flooded Bart's head. Where was he going to go? How long could he survive out of the camp? He couldn't go back there now, the Reach would kill him instantly.

Staying in the city also wasn't an option if the rumours were to be believed and Bart was almost certain they were. He wasn't the only one who had seen things in the shadows.

Suddenly there was a noise behind him, down in the sewers – probably the man from before. A nearby building that was half destroyed seemed like Bart's best option, so he ran inside and hoped the man hadn't seen him. Worse than that, he could faintly hear a Reach patrol in the distance.

This day had become a nightmare.

What could he possibly do? It felt like certain death was approaching him from every side.

Having sat himself down in a dark corner of the building, Bart gripped his head in an effort to stop it from spinning. He was all but drained of energy and the chilled night air wasn't helping. As the sound of the patrol drew closer, he began to wonder if he should give up and hand himself to the Reach. It was while he sat with his thoughts that a large gust of wind swept through the room from somewhere. He shivered.

"Hey, are you ok?"

A strangled yelp escaped Bart's throat in surprise before a hand clamped over his mouth. The strange, red haired man had appeared from nowhere and was squatting in front of him.

"Shh," the man breathed through gritted teeth, "They'll hear us."

Bart didn't care. He'd rather a swift death by the Reach than the unknown fate he'd face with this man.

But he was too weak. He couldn't fight him off, try as he might. The hand wouldn't budge from his face and the man wouldn't let him go. His strength was rapidly leaving him as he tried to push the man away.

"Bart, please calm down. Let me explain."

The man was starting to panic – the Reach patrol was nearly upon them.

Bart took small comfort in this fact.

"Please, just trust me."

And Bart really no longer had a choice. He stopped his futile struggling as the last of his energy left him. Waiting limply in the grip of the man for his fate, he scrunched his eyes closed.

To his surprise, the cold grip of death did not greet him. Instead, he felt himself scooped into the arms of the man while the wind started to blow fiercely through the room. He forced himself to re-open his eyes and was stunned by what he saw. More precisely, what he didn't see. The world had become a blur around him. The man was carrying him while running. Running at an impossible speed.

_It can't be._

_All my family are dead._

_I'm supposed to be the last speedster._

_How can there possibly be another?_

He looked up at the man's face and saw he was now wearing an odd pair of goggles. Bart knew those goggles. They had belonged to Kid Flash. Wally West.

With a slight shake of his head he tried let the silly notion leave his head. It was impossible.

Then again, nothing about this day had been normal.

Maybe, just maybe, this person was exactly who he suspected it to be. So he let the man keep carrying him, and for the first time since he could remember, let himself feel the smallest amount of hope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be called “What Seest Thou Else in the Dark Backward and Abysm of Time?”  
> Anyone who knows where I’m getting the chapter names for this fic from will be showered with imaginary flowers.  
> Please feel free to review, all constructive criticism is welcome.


	3. What Seest Thou Else in the Dark Backward and Abysm of Time?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Richard Grayson has lost a lot in his relatively short life time. His family, Jason and now his best friend Wally. But has he really lost Wally? And why is Bart acting strange? Well, stranger than usual.

**Chapter 3 – What Seest Thou Else in the Dark Backward and Abysm of Time?**

A whole month had passed since Dick last visited the Watchtower. A whole month since he took a leave of absence. A whole month since his best friend died.

To say he wasn't coping would be a massive understatement, but he hid it well.

He was only up at the tower to pass on some information to Kaldur, but nevertheless found himself walking through the vast halls of the space station. Seemingly aimlessly, he wandered, until he stood before Jason's memorial. His little brother. Someone else he had lost. After all, death was business as usual.

His eyes skimmed across the holograms of the other fallen heroes until they landed upon Wally's and also, surprisingly, Bart. As far as Dick knew, the former and current Kid Flashes had never been that close. But, he could still understand why he would come here and talk to Wally, since he'd been planning on doing the same.

From where he was standing, he could faintly hear Bart mumbling something and he was fairly certain at least one of those words was 'Wally'. Silently he walked up behind Bart – he was a bat after all.

"How are you holding up Bart?" he asked.

The kid seemed to jump out of his skin.

"Nightwing! You scared me," he rattled out in his usual erratic manner, "You… Uh… Didn't hear any of that did you?"

His latter words, however, carried a darker tone. One that Dick had noticed him using on rare occasion ever since they first met. His detective side had always been curious about the darkness that lingered behind Bart's façade. Regardless, he'd never pushed the matter with the kid.

"No, I didn't catch any of it," he lied. If Bart wanted to talk to Wally, that wasn't any of his business. But then again…

The two heroes stood in silence for a while looking up at Wally's memorial. Dick could sense that Bart was skittish because of his presence.

_Maybe talking to him isn't such a bad idea, all things considered._

"You know, it's ok to talk to him. It's surprisingly normal. I do it all the time," He paused for a moment, but took Bart's silence as a cue to go one, "And not just to Wally, I talk to Jason as well. Tim does too. Don't tell him I told you that though."

Bart opened his mouth then closed it again, a scowl beginning to form on his face as he contemplated something. Dick pondered whether he should keep talking when Bart spoke up.

"Yeah. Yeah I guess you're right. Thanks, Nightwing."

And just like that the eccentric mask fell back into place.

"Well, I gotta run," he chuckled and waved as he walked off. Dick merely snorted.

He probably could have gotten him to open up more, maybe even should have, but Bart was a puzzle for another day. There were more important things to do. Leads to follow. Slim as they may be, he was determined to cover every possibility.

Because Wally couldn't be dead.

He refused to believe his best friend was dead.

And that was what kept him going. That there was the possibility of another explanation. There had been no body, no trace of him at all. There one moment, gone the next. There had to be more to it. There just had to be.

Now that he thought about, maybe Bart's weird behaviour was a lead. The kid was from the future after all. Dick already knew that he was hiding something; something other than Blue Beetle's connection to the Reach. Maybe that something involved Wally.

He needed to look into this more. Find some sort of evidence. And when he did, Bart would be in for an interesting conversation. One that would hopefully provide the answers to more than one mystery.

* * *

As he walked back to his room in the Watchtower, Bart let out a heavy sigh. He was frustrated to say the least, and maybe even a little afraid. Dick could have easily overheard what he said, and there was no way of knowing if he had caught even a little bit of his one-sided conversation with Wally.

Did he hear him joke about the first time he met Wally?

Did he hear him complain that talking to a hologram was nothing like the real thing?

Did he hear him talk about how much he missed Wally?

Bart had to hope that he hadn't heard any of it. None at all. He'd made a promise – one which he planned to keep it.

He couldn't let Wally down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be called “I Long to Hear the Story of Your Life, Which Must Captivate the Ear Strangely” and will be set back in the future.
> 
> Please review ! Believe it or not they keep me interested in writing this story (i.e. reviews = faster updates.)


	4. I Long to Hear the Story of Your Life, Which Must Captivate the Ear Strangely

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wally tells a story and Bart learns to run. They're also running out of food.

**Chapter 4 – I Long to Hear the Story of Your Life, Which Must Captivate the Ear Strangely**

Wally couldn't really remember if he had particularly expected anything when he saved Bart. If he had, it definitely wasn't anything remotely close to this.

How could this kid, whose ridiculousness had rivalled Barry's, be so completely terrified of him?

More than once today, he found himself questioning if this really was the Bart Allen he knew.

"Who are you?" Bart suddenly spoke up.

Wally realised it was the first time he'd heard the kid speak since he saved him. His voice was different, darker with a hint of what might have been fear or maybe sadness.

"My name's Wally," he replied cautiously. The kid just nodded as a frown etched onto his face.

After having found Bart in the ruined city, they narrowly avoided a Reach patrol before he ran them back to the sewers. He had just put the kid down when he had spoken.

"Are you Wally West?"

"Yes."

"As in, Kid Flash Wally West?"

"The one and only."

The face Bart pulled at this information was a strange mix of sceptical, hopeful and terrified. He opened his mouth to respond when Wally's stomach growled loudly.

"That's all well and good, but can we find my backpack? I'm starving," Wally tried to usher Bart along the tunnel they were in but things were never going to be that easy.

"Wait!" Bart turned to face Wally with a glare, "How do you know my name? How do you know who I am? Why did you save me? If you are who you say you are how can you possibly be here?"

Wally was somewhat impressed by how fast he spoke considering he was still wearing the inhibitor collar. A true speedster through and through.

"Come on, you know what a speedster's metabolism is like! Let me find some food and I promise I'll answer your questions to the best of my ability. And we need to work on taking that collar off you too."

Bart continued to frown for a moment before nodding and turning back around.

"Okay."

* * *

Dull. That's how Wally would describe Bart's voice. Eerily dull.

They'd been walking in silence for a while when the thought struck him. He'd pinpointed exactly what it was about Bart's voice that was so different, and it was a little bit unnerving.

They rounded another corner and finally found where he'd left his bag. He hoped Bart didn't realise that he'd actually gotten lost and it was pure luck they even found it. That being said, Wally was ecstatic for food. He scoffed some down in seconds before offering a can to Bart.

"I'm fine," he claimed while slowly and awkwardly sitting down.

"More for me," he attempted to say through a mouthful. It stung Wally a little bit to know the kid still didn't trust him.

"Can you tell me how you know who I am now?" Bart interjected.

Wally swallowed.

"Uhh," he didn't know where to start, he hardly understood what was going on himself, "Yeah sure. But I don't think you're gonna believe me."

Bart simply gave him a blank look in response, so Wally began his tale. He started off with what he thought the most unbelievable fact – he was from the past – but to his surprise, Bart nodded at this fact like it was what he expected. Carrying on, he told him how he had been Kid Flash in the past and that his Uncle Barry – Bart's Grandpa – had been the Flash.

"You already seemed to know that," he commented but again Bart just nodded.

He told him how he'd been attempting to save the world along with the Flash when the Chrysalis energy had started attacking him. How he thought he was going to die. He was so sure he was a dead man. But then he had woken up in the North Pole and everything had changed. He told him about his trip south, how he'd hoped to find answers in Central, how he'd gone down into the sewers and eventually how it was that he'd come across Bart and saved him. How he didn't realise it was the future until that moment.

"Yeah, so in summary, I'm Wally West, your first cousin once removed, from the past. If that isn't cool I don't know what is," he finished his story with a dumb smile on his face.

Throughout the deluge of information Bart had nodded a couple of times but otherwise he hadn't moved.

"But how did you know it was me? I mean, how do you know exactly who I am?"

Wally froze. It wasn't like he'd done it on purpose, but something made him leave out any reference to Bart's own escapades in the past. And, of course, the kid had noticed the inconsistencies.

"Um," he was really struggling to think on his feet, "That would be because… Spoilers?" He offered up Bart's own word in an effort to cover his tracks. It didn't work.

"How can it be spoilers if you're from the past?"

Wally was struggling to keep a lid on his growing discomfort at the situation.

"It's complicated! Ok?" He instantly regretted yelling as Bart stiffened and attempted to withdraw into the wall he had been leaning against. "Sorry. I didn't mean to yell. Believe it or not I've had a stressful couple of days."

His apology didn't seem to make much difference to Bart who was still visibly attempting to shrink away. So Wally took a different approach.

"You know, if it wasn't for that collar, you probably could get your wish and disappear through that wall."

His words seemed to help because Bart lifted his head and looked over at him with curiosity, so Wally tried to continue on the topic.

"I could try and take it off again if you want?"

Bart reached up and casually fiddled with the large metal brace.

"I don't even know if I inherited the family speed. Even if I did there's no guarantee that I could vibrate my molecules. I've had this thing on me for as long as I can remember."

Wally had guessed as much, but he was still saddened to hear it was true.

"Then it's definitely time to find out," he reached into his bag and pulled out the screw driver he'd managed to acquire. Bart stiffened again for a split second but the nodded.

"Ok," Bart said while feigning the tiniest of smiles.

So Wally got to work. But really, he had no idea what he was doing, so he asked Bart a question in hope the kid didn't notice.

"Tell me Bart, how did you know that I was Wally West, Kid Flash?"

"The speed and the goggles kind of gave it away," he replied dryly.

"Yeah, but how did you know that Wally West and Kid Flash were one and the same?"

He paused and Wally started to think he wasn't going to reply.

"You're family," Bart continued, "Dad told me heaps of stories about the heroes in our family before…" he trailed off and Wally could easily guess what that meant.

He was trying to come up with something to say to get their minds of that depressing topic when by sheer luck, he actually managed to get the collar off. Bart's eyes widened as Wally pulled it off.

"Well, why don't you stretch your legs, see what you can do?" Wally suggested despite already knowing the extent of Bart's abilities.

Bart stood up relatively slowly and then, without a word, took off running at super speed. Wally was happy for him.

As the minutes wore on it occurred to him that maybe the kid wasn't coming back. He mentally face-palmed. Of course he wasn't coming back, he still didn't trust him! So he sped off in the same direction. However, he didn't get very far before he spotted him panting and looking as though he would pass out any moment.

"Of course, you're not used to the speedster metabolism!"

As much sense as that made, Wally couldn't help but wonder if Bart truly had intended to run away again. Regardless, he helped him to his feet.

"When was the last time you ate?" He asked.

"I don't remember," Bart murmured.

"That's not a good sign. Come on let's see what food I have left."

Wally half carried Bart back to his bag; he really needed to stop leaving it behind.

* * *

It probably wasn't until this very moment that Wally realised just how much he ate on a regular basis. Somehow, there were only two cans of food left in his bag. On his trip south he'd scavenged what he thought was a substantial amount but it turned out that wasn't quite the case. He gave both cans to Bart who ate them surprisingly slowly.

"You're so different," Wally mumbled to himself, not intending for Bart to hear him, so naturally he did.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Uh, Spoilers?" He was totally starting to appreciate why this kid said that word so much in the past. Or should he say the future?

_Oh man, now things are getting confusing._

"Again with the spoilers, what aren't you telling me?" Bart was still only half way through his first can of food and wasn't looking any better.

"I just can't explain it," Wally rubbed his hands down his face in frustration, "We need more food," he blurted.

"You're avoiding my question," Bart pointed out.

"No, this is important. Without food, we'll be dead long before the Reach find us. You stay here I'm going to go find some."

"I'm coming with you," terror flashed across Bart's face for a moment which surprised Wally. Considering how much he had been trying to get away from him early it was definitely surprising that he'd want to come along.

"You can't."

"Why not!?"

"You can barely stand for one thing. Just stay here. Finish eating and then sleep or something."

Bart gulped and Wally noticed that he was shivering. The kid definitely wasn't looking good. Taking that collar off may end up being a terrible idea; for all they know it could have been helping to keep him alive. Wally sighed, shrugged off his jumper and place it over Bart's shoulders.

"I'll be back before you know it," he said with what he hoped was a reassuring smile.

He picked up his bag and ran off before Bart got a chance to respond. This was going to be harder than he thought. How was he supposed to get Bart back to the past when he was in this state?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be called “To Credit His Own Lie” and will be in the past again.
> 
> As always, please review ! Tell me what you love, tell me what you hate, tell me where you hope the story will go.


	5. To Credit His Own Lie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bart learns that the best way to lie is to tell the truth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried something a little different with this chapter and put some of Bart’s thoughts in italics. Please feel free to tell me what you think of it, I might keep doing it in future chapters.

** Chapter 5 – To Credit His Own Lie **

Bart was starving and exhausted when he arrived back at the Watchtower from his latest mission. They always helped to distract him, but once they were over, he always felt the weight of his secrets ten-fold. They'd felt heavier than normal in the last week since he'd seen Dick. He couldn't get that particular conversation out of his head.

The last thing he wanted to deal with was Nightwing. However, when he walked back to his room on the Watchtower, bag of freeze-dried Chicken Whizzies in hand, that was exactly who stood outside his door. _Great._

"Nightwing! What are you doing here?" He slapped on his usual, over the top persona.

"We need to talk."

"Uh, okay. What about?" He could feel his façade slipping as he spoke, the act becoming too hard to maintain.

"Not here."

Nightwing walked off without waiting for Bart to agree, so he followed with silent curiosity.

_Maybe I should just tell him everything?_

A thought he'd had often in that last week, but each time he reminded himself of the promise he made to Wally. But at none of those prior times had Dick been standing right there.

_But Wally should have been back by now. What if something went wrong? What if he needs help? What if he never makes it back?_

Because of that last question, Wally had made Bart promise to not tell anyone about him travelling to the future. Not until he was back at least. It had taken Bart a while to work that one out and the realisation had hurt. When Wally had still been around, keeping that particular secret had been easy enough, but after a whole month passed and he still hadn't returned, it had gotten a lot harder.

They zeta'd to some back alley in Blüdhaven before climbing up onto a rooftop. Throughout the whole trip, Nightwing had remained silent. They'd been standing on the roof for a little over a minute before Bart's patience ran thin.

"What?" he demanded while opening his bag of Chicken Whizzies – yes, he'd brought them along.

"I don't think Wally's dead." Dick said the words so calmly and without giving away any hint of emotion that it took a moment for Bart to fully comprehend what was said.

"Oh" without thinking, the word slipped right out of his mouth.

_Great going there Bart! Now he's going to be even more suspicious of you._

"Why would you think that?" he tried to cover his slip up, because, well, no, Wally didn't die in the Arctic.

_But he might have died in the future._

Bart pushed the thought out of his mind as quickly as it had arrived.

_You can't afford to think like that!_

"There wasn't a body," Nightwing replied to his query, "not a single trace of him was left behind. Logically, there has to be more to this story."

He paused. The look on his face suggested he didn't know what to say next and Bart certainly didn't know how to reply. Not without giving himself away at least.

_Maybe I really should just tell him. It's been over a month! I'm going to go mad if I have to keep this up much longer. Wally, where are you? Why aren't you back yet? I suppose a month is well within the parameters that's what—_

His thoughts were cut off by Nightwing continuing his theory.

"Could he have entered the speed force? Gotten stuck there?"

"What? I… I don't know. I don't understand that stuff. Why are you asking me instead of, I don't know, the Flash? Or a member of the League?"

"Because… I don't want them to think I'm in denial."

_If I didn't know you were right I'd probably think that._

"They'll think I'm not coping."

_You're probably not._

"But I am. I'm coping. I'm looking at this logically."

"Are you?" Bart crossed his arms while hoping Dick wouldn't see through all his lies and bluffs.

"For one, I know you're hiding something Bart."

"What? I'm not."

"You are. Have been since day one."

"Yeah, the Blue Beetle thing."

"Not that, this is something else. And before you keep arguing remember that I'm a detective. Did you honestly think I wouldn't notice?"

"No… I mean… It's not what you think."

_I should just tell him. I really should tell him. It would be so easy. He'd definitely believe me._

"It's not something I've ever wanted to talk about."

_I can't tell him. Not yet._

"I didn't want anyone here to know."

_It's not a lie if it's the truth._

"If people knew, they'd look at me differently,"

_Be smart Bart. Don't mention Wally._

Nightwing had slowly been developing a frown that could rival a bat-glare, but suddenly he replaced it with a sad smile.

"Try me. I have some experience in… hiding my history."

Bart could tell he chose his words with care – he needed to do the same.

"I know, you know, that I came from a future where the Reach invasion was successful. Well… I…I've never let on how truly bad things were."

So he told Dick his story. How he'd grown up a slave – a collar around his neck from before he could walk. How over the years each member of his family had died or been killed. How he'd been completely alone by the time he was 10. He told him about the camps, about the hell he'd lived in every day. How there was never enough food. How it was pure luck that he lived through it all.

He stopped short of mentioning his escape. It would be too hard to explain without including Wally. Fortunately, the information he gave Nightwing seemed to satisfy his curiosity.

"So, it turns out we have more in common then I originally thought," Nightwing added when it became apparent that Bart was ending there, "You know my story don't you. You know what happened to my family."

"Well… Yeah." It had been Wally who told him.

"And you know that I found a new family – you've done the same. And you travelled through time to get it! That's something to be proud of," Nightwing placed his hands on Bart's shoulders, "Your history doesn't change who you are now. I get why you'd keep it a secret. And I'm not going to tell anyone else. That's for you, when you're ready. Until then, you can talk to me whenever you need."

"Thanks," a small smile had crept onto Bart's face while Nightwing was talking. A surprisingly genuine smile. "Yeah, I'm not telling anyone else. Not any time soon."

_Not until Wally's back._

"And that's ok," Nightwing had a giant grin on his face as he spoke, "let's go grab some more food."

Without even realising it, Bart had managed to eat the entire packet of Chicken Whizzies that he'd brought along.

_This is so not how I expected today to go._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was surprisingly fluffy and difficult to write. This is probably my least favourite chapter out of all of them, but it's stuff that needed to happen.  
> Next chapter will be called “The Very Rats Instinctively Had Quit It” and will be in the future.  
> Reviews are super-duper appreciated ! And, yeah, tell me what you think about the italicised thoughts.


	6. The Very Rats Instinctively Had Quit It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What hides in the shadows of the sewers in the future? What thing of Bart's nightmares has found him? Wally should never have left him behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Confession: I really disliked writing that last chapter. I'm still not really happy with how it turned out, but I wanted to move on to more exciting things. So to make up for it, I wrote this one super-fast. Also, fair warning, this chapter is the main reason I rated this fic T. Enjoy.

** Chapter 6 – The Very Rats Instinctively Had Quit It **

Wally had been gone for a mere 20 minutes when Bart came to the conclusion he wasn't coming back. He didn't spend long pondering whether it was because he had died, or because he'd decided to cut his losses and leave Bart to fend for himself. Either way, he didn't want to stay in the sewers a moment longer. As soon as he stood up, his stomach growled in protest and his head felt heavy. He was a lot hungrier than normal and frozen too, even with Wally's jumper.

_Maybe I should wait just a little bit longer._

A rather large bang suddenly echoed through the tunnels which made Bart jump and his skin crawl.

_Please don't be them_.

There was a reason no one ran. Why no one ever tried to escape the camps. There were things out there. And they were a whole lot worse than the Reach. If rumours were to be believed, the sewers were infested with them.

_Wally, why did you leave me behind?_

"Not enough meat," a voice growled.

The words echoed around the sewer and Bart couldn't tell which direction they had come from. He pressed his hand against the wall for support as he walked to the end of the tunnel. He peeked around the corner, but nobody was there. As he let out a sigh of relief, he took a step forward, intending to continue around the corner. Before he could go any further, a hand grabbed his clothes and pulled him back.

He was spun around and painfully pushed into the wall by a rather large arm. An arm that was attached to a man over three times his size. He had no hair and a wicked grin that revealed black and yellow teeth. His clothes were tattered and dirty and he smelled like death. It was as though he had stepped out of one of Bart's nightmares.

"I think it's our lucky day," a woman's voice cackled.

She appeared out the shadows and walked towards the man and his prey. Her state was much the same as his, except she had more hair. She held her head on an angle and had a crazed look in her eyes. Her walk was better defined as a limp, for she dragged her disfigured left leg behind her, but she also seemed substantially older than the man.

"Can't believe we found a live one. No matter how small," she smirked at her own 'joke'.

"Meat is meat," the man grumbled in reply.

Bart screwed his eyes shut and attempted to shrink away from the man holding him.

_If only I could vibrate my molecules._

And he tried. He tried so hard, but the only reward he received was a spinning head. He was too tired. Too hungry. Too afraid.

"Look at this one, shaking like a leaf!" the woman guffawed,

"Got any rope?"

"You know I do. Don't want him slipping away."

The woman walked forwards and grabbed Bart's hands. He was well passed terrified and had started to hyperventilate.

_This isn't happening. Oh god, this isn't happening._

"Wally," he murmured the name silently, like a prayer.

"Did he say something," the woman snickered.

"Wally!" this time he screamed it, with all of his might. It was the only thing he could think to do.

The giant man wrapped a hand around Bart's throat and smashed his head against the tunnel. Darkness consumed him.

* * *

Bart's head felt like it was on fire when he finally managed to pull himself back to the waking world. A slight breeze licked through his hair which told him that he was somehow in motion. Slowly he forced his heavy eyes to open so he could take in his surroundings. He was staring down at the ground, courtesy of being slung over the man's shoulder and the full realisation of what had happened hit him.

They were still down in the sewers – Bart had no idea how long he'd been out. He heard the man and woman bicker but was too focussed on trying to stay calm that he didn't register their words.

_Calm down Bart. Stay calm. Don't freak out._

He realised that while he had been unconscious his wrists had been tied together. To his dismay, so had his ankles.

_This is bad. I can't get away like this. I can't run like this. Calm down!_

He let out a shaky breath he hadn't realise he'd been holding and noticed the strip of fabric that was tied around his head gagging him. Bart made a strangled gasping noise as the man shifted the arm that held him.

"He's awake," he grumbled.

_This is bad. This is really bad._

"No matter, we're nearly at the exit," she quipped.

Bart was rightfully confused by what happened next. The man pulled him off of his shoulder and set him down against the wall before turning to face his 'partner'.

"You don't listen."

"I ignored your suggestions. There's a difference."

"Eat now."

Bart really didn't like the sound of that. He was trying to get the rope off his wrists but wasn't having any luck. He even tried to vibrate his molecules again but didn't succeed.

_I'm dead. They're going to eat me. I'm so dead. Breathe Bart. Just breathe… It'll be over soon._

"No, you know the rules."

"More for us."

"What if they find out? They'll kill us."

"Won't."

"They will, and you know it."

"Skinny," the man pointed straight at Bart making the kid freeze, "not enough for one."

"Yeah I know. But there's never enough food, not for all of us. Never enough for you, ya' beast," she slapped him on the shoulder, "But you know we can't."

_Why can't I just vibrate my molecules? What's wrong with me? Don't give up Bart. Not yet._

He felt incredibly dizzy from his multiple attempts to escape and really wished he had something to eat.

_How can I possibly want to eat at a time like this!?_

While the man and woman continued to argue about what to do with their captive, not once did Bart think that Wally would come to save him. Not once did he consider that the original Kid Flash would speed in and save the day. It wasn't what people did, not in the future at least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was bought to you by me reading Frankenstein and the Maze Runner series too much but also The 100 TV show a little.
> 
> Next chapter will be called "Hell is Empty and All the Devils are Here" and you'll have to wait and see whether it's in the future or the past ;)
> 
> Also, please review ! I love them, they always make me smile :)


	7. Hell is Empty and All the Devils are Here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Wally to the rescue ! Or is it ? Regardless, family hugs are involved.

** Chapter 7 – Hell is Empty and All the Devils are Here **

Wally ran through the deserted streets of Central City at super speed. He had somehow managed to find a substantial amount of food in the hour he'd spent searching various buildings. It was as though the universe had decided to pay him back for the awful hand he'd been dealt in the past few days.

As he re-entered the sewers, his only hope was that the kid hadn't run off again.

* * *

Bart had been so focussed on trying to get out of his bindings that when the woman suddenly grabbed his arm and pulled him upwards he let out an undignified squeal.

_I'm dead. They're going to eat me. I'm so dead._

"We're done. This conversation is pointless," the woman sighed in frustration.

The man roared at her. An actual, literal roar. One which echoed through the tunnels around them.

"Are you an idiot!?" the woman screamed at him.

Bart didn't understand how their argument had escalated so quickly. The terror he'd managed to keep at bay so far quickly overwhelmed him as he began to hyperventilate.

"Hungry! Meat! Fresh!"

"We can't get away with eating him now. You've made so much noise everyone will be closing in on us. Why are you so stupid!?"

The woman tried to awkwardly pull Bart along behind her but a combination of her limp leg and his consistent struggling made the task impossible.

"You stupid brat!" she spat the words at him and raised her fist.

Bart braced himself for the hit and squished his eyes closed, but it never came. Rather, there was a large gust of wind followed by an unceremonious fall to the ground. He twisted himself around into some sort of sitting position and saw that the woman had ended up several metres down the sewer tunnel and was out cold.

The man roared again.

"Bart!"

That's when he finally noticed Wally who was engaged in a fight with the man.

_Where did he come from?_

Wally threw a fist at the man but he easily dodged it and followed with a strike of his own. It hit Wally square in the back and sent him flying but he was back on his feet in a flash.

"Bart, I need you to vibrate your molecules," Wally commanded over the sound of the crazed man.

Bart shook his head as vigorously as he could despite how nauseous it made him.

_I can't! I've tried. What is he even doing here?_

The giant man still had the upper hand on Wally and Bart could tell the latter was beginning to lose his momentum. He hadn't managed to score a single descent hit on the man.

"Bart! I don't think I can take this guy!" Wally yelled at him, his voice desperate.

_Then get out of here you idiot!_

Bart pulled furiously at the rope around his wrists but there was still no give. He tried to shout through his gag. Tried to tell Wally to leave.

"You have to vibrate your molecules! I know you can do it," there was a pause as Wally ducked under a fist, "I've seen you do it!"

_I've never done this!_

The man picked Wally up and threw him further down the tunnel and stomped after him. Bart saw him wobble as he stood up to face his attacker.

"Bart!" he looked straight at him, "I believe in you!"

The man lunged at Wally, picked him up by his throat and began to choke him.

_Why is this happening? Why are you willing to die for me!?_

It was in that moment that Bart came to a realisation: Wally was exactly who he said he was. He was a hero. He was Kid Flash. He was his distant cousin. He was his only family. And he was going to die if Bart didn't do something, and fast.

He breathed deeply and fought off the panic attack he'd been having and concentrated once more on getting himself free. He felt himself shake. Felt it become more than that. Felt the rope fall away from his wrists and ankles. Felt the gag disappear from his mouth. He'd done it.

Without any more hesitation, Bart shot to his feet and ran at super speed towards the man. With the help of his momentum, he slammed his fist into the back of his skull. It wasn't enough to knock the monster out, but it dazed him and allowed for Wally to easily slip out of his grip.

Bart dashed forward and pulled Wally to his feet.

"Weneedtogo. Weneedtogetoutofhere."

Wally cocked his head to the side and Bart realised how fast he'd spoken.

"Sorry, I, uh-"

"You did it!" Wally slapped Bart on the shoulder, "I knew you could! Think you can run?"

"Yeah."

The man had finally recovered and began to charge them.

"Okgoodlet'sgo," Wally gurgled the words in an almost comical fashion.

And with that, the pair ran at super speed far away through the tunnels.

* * *

Bart didn't think they'd been running very long when Wally skidded to a halt a few metres from an exit.

"This'll probably do," he reached into his backpack, pulled out some food and passed it to Bart, "here."

"We need to get out of here," Bart cautioned as he accepted the food, "Fast."

"Yeah, I know. Don't want to run into that oaf and his lady friend again," Wally leaned against the sewer wall and started to eat his own portion of food.

"There's more of them. They said… It sounded like the sewers are full of them," Bart forced himself to stay calm.

_It's over. You got away. It'll be fine._

It was hard to reassure himself while they remained in the sewers. When those people could be around every corner.

"I don't doubt it," Wally spluttered as he finished his food, "and it'll be easier to get out of the city while it's still night. No way am I staying around here for another day."

Bart nodded in agreement as he too finished his last mouthful.

"But, before we go, just tell me this," Wally put his hands on Bart's shoulders and looked into his cousin's eyes, "Are you ok? Did they hurt you?"

"Um, a little, but I'm fine," his words only caused Wally to frown, "Really, I'm ok."

Before Bart had a chance to react, he found himself pulled into a tight hug.

"You freaked me out kid."

"Sorry," Bart mumbled into Wally's shirt. It took him a moment, but he eventually returned the hug. He hadn't been hugged in a long time. He'd forgotten how much comfort they could bring.

"Nothing to be sorry about," Wally assured Bart as he let go, "Let's get out of this hell hole."

They climbed up into the crisp night air and slowly made their way out of the city. With surprising stealth, they left those haunted ruins behind for good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be called “Full Fathom Five Thy Father Lies” and will be back in the past.
> 
> Don’t forget to drop a review if you’re enjoying the story !


	8. Full Fathom Five Thy Father Lies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Richard Grayson knows two things with utmost certainty: Wally West isn’t dead and Bart Allen is still hiding something.

** Chapter 8 – Full Fathom Five Thy Father Lies **

Dick was certain that Bart held the final piece to this puzzle; the key piece of evidence that would bring Wally home.

He had found out the truth about Bart’s past a little over a month ago and the two of them had talked often in the time since then. He was a little surprised at first that Bart had chosen to confide in him, but he was glad he did.

Bart told Dick a lot about the future; about all the stuff that would have happened if Bart hadn’t come back. He especially liked to tell him stories about his family. Dick was awestruck by the amount of love they’d managed to show each other despite the world they’d lived in.

Dick often wondered how strange it would be for Bart once his Dad and Aunt were born. He’d be able to watch them grow up and then eventually Bart himself would be born. That was probably the most confounding part, and he still wasn’t sure how that could even work. Bart had explained to him that they’d have two different Barts on their hands because of his particular method of time travel. The kid seemed to know an awful lot about that sort of stuff despite being so young. His scientific way of thinking often reminded Dick of Wally.

Dick had a lot of theories about what had happened to Wally and bounced several of them off of Bart. The latter had done a heap of research on the speed force since Dick had first mentioned that particular theory. However, he could tell that overall, Bart was disinterested. When it came to elaborating on different possibilities, Bart would hardly shut up, but when the issue of finding evidence and actually proving the theories came up, he was all but silent. It was as though he only helped so he could keep an eye on Dick; make sure he didn’t succumb to delusions in his grief.

More than once Dick had wondered if he’d made the right call in asking Bart for his help. Fortunately, it turned out that he had, because Bart slipped up.

Due to Bart’s significant knowledge on time travel, Dick had suggested the possibility of Wally having done so, but he immediately shot the theory down. It wasn’t like Bart to completely disregard an idea, and they’d had some pretty strange ones. One week they even discussed how Wally could have been teleported to another planet – time travel wasn’t so far-fetched in comparison. His excuses had been strange as well – something about him being an expert on time travel and knowing without a doubt that the chrysalis' energy couldn’t have transported Wally to the future. It was a paper thin argument and he had quickly changed the subject after making it.

Dick’s detective mind had quickly spun into overdrive. The sudden change in behaviour led him to one obvious conclusion – Bart was still hiding something. Something big. Something to do with the future. Something to do with time travel and very probably, something to do with Wally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be called “I Would Not Wish Any Companion in the World but You” and will be in the future.  
> Don’t forget to review ! I love hearing your thoughts on my story :)


	9. I Would Not Wish Any Companion in the World but You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wally and Bart head east.

**Chapter 9 – I Would Not Wish Any Companion in the World but You**

While leaving Central City had been simple enough – obvious option, easily executed – the decision of what to do next was a lot trickier.

Wally had no idea where to start. He knew he had to get Bart back to the past so he could stop the 'Reach Apocalypse' – that much was obvious. It was more the 'how' that was giving him problems. That and he also had to actually tell Bart. And he also had to work out how to get _himself_ back to the past without stuffing up the already 'fixed' timeline. All these thoughts were doing his head in.

Then there was Bart himself. The kid was so different to the one Wally knew in the past. So reserved and calculating. No talk first, think later. Had it all been an act? Surely not. Surely he couldn't have kept it up for as long as he did. But the Bart that was with him seemed so _damaged_ in comparison. He struggled with his powers and was overly cautious with them, preferring to lag behind rather than speed ahead like Wally knew he could.

Wally made the executive decision that sleep was in order when he saw a small deserted building that was probably once a gas station. They hadn't been running very long, but he could see how tired Bart was thanks to everything that had happened in the last 24 hours. It was also well after midnight.

Wally shook off the ash that had accumulated in his hair since they had stopped and wandered into the desolate building. It was almost pitch black inside, without even the moon as a light source. Wally plopped himself on the ground and pulled out a blanket he'd acquired along the way. He passed it to Bart along with some food.

"You need this more than I do."

"Thanks," Bart's response sounded somewhat confused.

They sat in a heavy silence and ate for a while until Bart threw something soft at Wally. As he picked it up, he realised it was his jumper.

"You should have that then," Bart mumbled.

"Thanks."

While he didn't say it in as many words, Wally was incredibly grateful – it was a freezing cold night. He used his bag as a makeshift pillow and curled himself into a ball in a meek attempt to keep the cold at bay. It wasn't very effective.

"Goodnight," Wally called softly.

"Night," came Bart's quiet response.

* * *

Wally woke up with the grey light of the new day and the ominous thunder that never ceased rolling in the distance. He propped himself up on his elbows and noticed that Bart was already awake. The kid was staring blankly out a window with the blanket wrapped around his shoulders.

"You're up nice and early," Wally muttered.

"Yeah," Bart didn't turn to face him, "just figured I'd keep watch."

_Did he get any sleep?_

"I don't know about you, but I'm starving."

Wally stretched out his cramped limbs and noticed a new pile of food sitting on the floor near Bart.

"Uh, where'd that come from?"

"Found it in the other room" Bart motioned with his head as spoke.

"Have you had anything this morning?" Wally asked as he grabbed a can.

"Yeah, when I found this stuff… Will I ever get used to this metabolism? I've never felt this hungry."

"Eat some more then," Wally coaxed, "It's really important for us speedsters. And yes, you'll be used to it in no time. That is, of course, as long as we keep finding food. Not gonna lie, I miss fridges."

"Never had one," Bart shrugged and a somewhat awkward silence set in while they both ate their fill.

"Do you miss your family?" Bart suddenly asked.

"Yeah of course."

"I miss mine. A lot."

"What… happened to them?" Wally asked his question with a great amount of caution. It had been bothering him for a while, but he'd been too afraid of the answer to actually ask.

"They're all gone."

And there it was – confirmation of what Wally had already guessed – Bart was the last of their family.

"Hey, but you've got me now," Wally eventually noted, "Your second cousin once removed."

"Guess I do," Bart croaked as he gave Wally a tiny smile. He stood up, pulled the blanket off his shoulders and passed it to Wally, "we should probably get out of here."

"Yeah, I'm a little worried the Reach are on our tail. I doubt they'd just ignore your vanishing act."

"Where are we gonna go?"

"Um," Wally hadn't thought about that. His mind had been occupied by thoughts on 'how to build a time machine'. 'How to tell Bart that he has to go to the past'. 'How to get himself back to the past'. Not about where they might go next, "I really don't know. Things are _different_ here. I don't know where we should start."

"There was a rumour in the camp. It might be nothing, but there were whispers that there was a man hiding out from the Reach and that he had a plan that would change everything."

"That sounds promising. Where is he?"

"Nobody knows."

"Great."

"They say he's in the place where Earth's heroes once lived, but nobody knows what that means."

"The Hall of Justice?"

"It was destroyed."

"The Watchtower?"

"Crashed to Earth."

"Oh!"

"What?"

"OH!" Wally started running around their small shelter packing up everything that could be of use.

"Wally? Do you know what it means?" Bart was given no reply.

Wally was too busy letting his thoughts run a hundred miles an hour to hear Bart.

_Of course! Bart showed up in the middle of Mount Justice. If I'm right, then that's where he'll leave in his time machine. When I travelled through time, I stayed in the same place. It makes so much sense. We have to get to Happy Harbour. Shouldn't take much more than a day. Maybe this guy knows how to build a time machine. He'll be able to send Bart back. He'll be able to send me back. This is so-_

"Wally!" Bart yelled, "What's going on!?"

Wally was promptly knocked out of his thoughts.

"We have to get to Happy Harbour," Wally said at a relatively fast speed.

"What?"

"It's where this guy is!"

"How could you possibly know that?"

"I'm one of Earth's heroes! Of course I know. It makes so much sense."

"What? How?"

"Doesn't matter. It's definitely where we need to go."

Wally flew out the door and barely waited to see that Bart was ready to go before he took off running. He noticed that the kid was doing a much better job at keeping up after he'd rested and eaten which only added to Wally's growing sense of hope. He held firmly to the belief that everything was going to work out fine.

* * *

By Wally's estimation, it took them a day and a half to reach Happy Harbour. They stopped a couple of times to eat and also when the sun set so they could get some much needed sleep. While Wally did momentarily consider travelling by the cover of night, an icy wind had picked up as the sun set and he quickly changed his mind. There had also been Bart to think about. While he was definitely doing better, it was blatantly obvious that he was struggling with his new abilities. Their insufficient food supply didn't help either and Wally sorely hoped they'd find more in Happy Harbour.

"Where _exactly_ are we going?" Bart asked as they entered the silent town.

"It's not far, just on the other side," Wally pointed off into the distance.

"You're really good at answering questions vaguely, you know that? What's on the other side of this town?"

"Mount Justice of course."

"I don't see any mountains around."

"Oh, you'll see." Wally took off running and Bart followed suit.

They arrived at the ruins of Mount Justice in no time and Wally started clambering over what remained.

"What is this place? What are you looking for?" Bart inquired as he followed Wally.

"This," Wally gestured around himself, "is where Earth's heroes once lived."

"Oh…kay" Bart drew out the word as he walked through the destruction with a confused expression. "What… what happened here? Was this a mountain?"

"Yes. Bomb. Long story." Wally turned around and began to half-heartedly dig through a pile of rubble to let Bart know he wasn't about to explain.

_Dick and I had one hell of an argument over that incident. And we never made up. I hope I get the chance to say sorry. Sorry for not believing in him. For probably making him doubt himself. Some friend I was. Oh God he probably thinks I'm dead. They all probably do… But what about Bart? Does he know I'm not–_

"Hey Bart," He turned back to his cousin, not really sure of what he was going to say, but while he'd been distracted by his thoughts, Bart had disappeared.

"Bart!" he called out, "Where'd you go?"

Silence.

"Bart!" he tried again, "Come on, answer me!"

No response came.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be called “Misery Acquaints a Man with Strange Bedfellows” and will be in the future again
> 
> Sorry this took a bit longer than normal, I didn’t get a chance to proof read until today and I kept having ideas for the next chapter that would side track me but that hopefully means I’ll update again soon.
> 
> You know the drill, leave a review and make my day :)


	10. Misery Acquaints a Man with Strange Bedfellows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Introducing Neutron.

**Chapter 10 – Misery Acquaints a Man with Strange Bedfellows**

"What… what happened here? Was this a mountain?" Bart was rather confused. From the way Wally had been going on, he'd half expected… well nothing too great, but nothing quite as disappointing as this 'Mount Justice'. If you could even still call it that.

"Yes. Bomb. Long story." Wally turned away from Bart; their conversation cut short.

_Great. No answers. Again._

Bart wandered off through the rubble as he tried to imagine what this place would have looked like before the bomb that Wally didn't want to talk about.

_What sort of bomb could blow up a mountain? Was it the Reach?_

He kicked a rock along the ground as he walked past several large boulders. It was behind one of these that he found an odd metal contraption that had been damaged a long time ago. He gazed up at it in awe.

"Bart!" he suddenly heard Wally call, "Where'd you go?"

He hadn't realised how far he'd wandered off and quickly turned around to go back. However, before he could call out to Wally, a strong hand seized his wrist and yanked his arm behind his back. A small yelp escaped his lips in surprise but he didn't dare make another sound as he felt something sharp press lightly against his throat. His free arm grabbed hold of the arm that he supposed held a knife in an unsuccessful attempt to pull it away.

"Keep quiet if you want to live," a gruff voice commanded.

Bart made a small movement with his head that he hoped would be interpreted as a nod.

"Good kid. Now tell me who you are and you'll probably make it out of this."

"Bart!" Wally called again, "Come on, answer me!"

"Don't even think about it," the man snarled, "Did they send you? Are you on mode?"

Bart didn't understand and hardly dared to breath.

"Come on kid. I don't want to kill you if I don't have to."

"B…Bart. My name's…Bart," he spoke softly and silently cursed himself for stuttering.

"Already worked that much out myself," the man lightly chuckled before returning to a darker voice, "Who's your friend?"

Bart hesitated for a moment and felt the man tighten his grip on his wrist.

"Wally," he spluttered.

"Bart!" Wally was getting closer – desperation evident in his voice.

Bart attempted to rip his hand out of the man's grasp, but was rewarded with the knife being pressed harder against his throat.

"Dumb idea kid. Just make this easier on yourself and answer my question: are you on mode?"

"I…" Bart's voice hitched as he felt himself start to panic, "don't know... what you mean."

"It's a simple yes or no question boy. Are. You. On. Mode?" The man punctuated each of his words, but they still made no sense to Bart.

"I… I don't know."

"That's not good enough kid."

Fortunately for Bart, it was at that moment that Wally finally found them amongst the debris – horror evident on his face.

"So your friend finally decided to join us," the man drawled, "maybe now one of you will give me an answer."

Bart saw something flash across Wally's face. Was it recognition?

"Hey, look man, we're not your enemy," Wally held his hands in front of himself as a sign of good will.

"I'll be the judge of that."

"Come on, he's just a kid," Wally gestured at Bart, "And we're on your side. We were looking for you."

"That doesn't sound very innocent."

"Look, we need your help. Can you… Can you let my cousin go?" There was no denying the fear in Wally's voice.

"Family hey," the man moved the knife a fraction higher on Bart's neck causing him to tilt his head back, "Not until you prove you're trustworthy. Are you on mode?"

"What? How am I supposed–?"

"Wally!" Bart choked in hysteria, "Are we or aren't we one mode?"

"Huh? Oh," Wally seemed to have one of his lightbulb moments much to Bart's chagrin, "Um. No. We're not on mode."

Bart let out a shaky breath. As he'd hoped, Wally somehow understood the man's strange question.

"What are you then?" The man didn't loosen his grip on Bart but his voice took on a different tone. Was it lighter? Hopeful?

"Uh," Wally's face was marred with uncertainty, "We're… crash?"

There was silence for only a second, but it felt like an eternity to Bart, then suddenly the man let out a raucous laugh and released his arm. The young speedster instantly ran to Wally's side; he didn't want to give the unhinged man a chance to change his mind. He also finally got a good look at the man and saw that he was wearing a torn and dirty orange prison jumpsuit and an accompanying inhibitor collar. He was bald and his face was marked with a large white scar that ran down the right half of his face. Wally placed a hand on Bart's shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile.

"Are you ok?" He asked in a whisper.

Bart nodded and Wally turned back to face the stranger.

"Are you Neutron?" Wally inquired cautiously.

"Yes, but do not call me that. It's Nathaniel regardless of what those Reach freaks did to me."

"Neutron?" Bart asked incredulously, "as in the man who killed the Flash?"

"Yes." Neutron answered as he crossed his arms; his hunting knife came to rest on his bicep.

"You killed my grandfather!" Bart shouted. He prepared himself to attack Neutron, but Wally's arm flew in front of him.

"He didn't," Wally claimed.

"What do you know?" Bart growled.

"It wasn't his fault," Wally clarified, "And I'm pretty sure he's the man we've been looking for."

"What?" Bart responded in disbelief.

"Now why would you be looking for little old me?" Neutron said in an almost mocking tone.

"You have a plan. Don't you," Wally responded.

"And what's it to you?"

"I think–no, I _know_ we can help."

"Alright," Neutron sat himself down on a rock, "Tell me your story. What makes you worth my while?"

"Well, we're both metas," Wally started, "Super speed. And we're related to the Flash. We were over in Central City but escaped a few days ago. We heard there was a man with a plan. And we're hoping that man's you."

Bart scowled at Neutron throughout Wally's explanation. He didn't like the guy and he certainly didn't trust him. Bart also noticed that Wally didn't tell Neutron about the time travelling which made him realise his cousin didn't trust this man either. Not fully at least.

"Metas huh," Neutron spoke up after a lengthy pause, "I suppose you could be useful. Know much about science?"

"I guess," Wally answered.

"Good. Follow me. And, uh, sorry kid. For before. You can never be too careful eh-heh-heh-heh," Neutron's laugh was borderline disturbing which only made Bart glare harder.

Bart made an effort to stay behind Wally as Neutron led them past the strange, ruined machine into a make shift shelter. A large tarp provided the roof although Bart made note of the many holes in it. To one side was a pile of decrepit sheets that Bart assumed were meant to be a bed. There was also a large metal chest that was overflowing with diagrams and blueprints some of which had found their way onto the wooden table that sat on the opposite side of the hovel. However, the most striking feature was the sheer quantity of scrap machinery stuffed into the tiny space Neutron called a home. Metal casings and multi-coloured wires littered every surface leaving almost no room to move in the cramped quarters.

"It's here somewhere," Neutron grumbled quietly as he shuffled through the many papers on top of the desk until he pulled out a large and complicated looking blueprint, "Uh-huh, this is the one. The plan. The future. Well, more like the past."

He passed the sheet to Wally who looked at it with confusion.

"Uhh, what is it?" Wally asked after a while.

"Time machine. My own design."

Wally's eyes seemed to pop out of his head as he looked back to the blueprint, then to Neutron, then to the blueprint, then to Bart and then back to Neutron again.

"We have to send Bart back," he announced.

"What? Why me? You're the one from the past!" Bart complained.

"He's what now?" Neutron chimed in, but was promptly ignored.

"You have to. It's your mission!" Wally continued.

"You're doing it again!" Bart was beyond frustrated

"Doing what?"

"Being cryptic!"

"When was I being cryptic?"

"Uh, spoilers."

"But that's your phrase!" Wally slammed a hand over his mouth as he instantly realised what he'd said.

"That is it!" Bart all but roared, "You're giving me answers. Now."

"You don't understand."

"I won't until you help me understand."

"It could mess up the time stream."

"Does this look like a reality worth preserving?"

"Well, no–"

"Then tell me–"

"Because you fixed the time stream! You stopped the Reach Apocalypse!"

"I what?"

"He what?" Neutron added, clearly annoyed at being ignored.

Wally seemed to squirm in his skin under the harsh gaze of his two companions.

"Wally what are you talking about?" Bart asked, his voice calmer, but filled with confusion, "What aren't you telling me?"

"Guess there's no getting out of this now," he gulped and proceeded to explain at a near inaudible speedster pace, "This is going to sound really strange, but just bear with me. To answer your question Nathaniel, I'm from the past, forty-ish years ago. We've actually already met. Saved your life. You're welcome. The Reach invaded. Attempted to invade. We stopped them, thanks to Bart here who arrived in a time machine that matches this one of your own design. Landed right in the middle of Mount Justice. While it was still a Mountain of course. After the Reach were sent packing from Earth, they made one last ditch attempt at destroying it. We stopped that too. But I accidentally travelled through time because of it. Annnnnnd now we're here."

Wally finished off his spiel with a dumb grin on his face, but Bart and Neutron only stared at him with wide eyes. Wally scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

"So, um, yeah. Should definitely make this machine and then send Bart back… And then maybe you could also send me back?"

Silence continued to echo around the small shelter before Neutron finally regained his wits.

"The… The design only seats one. We'd have to make you a separate machine. And if what you say is true, then we should probably send the two of you back to different times anyway. Send you back to _when_ you came from so you don't mess stuff up," he started rummaging through his many blueprints and scrap machinery, mumbling to himself.

Bart remained silent throughout Wally's jumbled explanation. For every answer it had given him, he'd been left with ten more questions. His mind tried desperately to sort through all his thoughts to provide him with something to say. So many questions, but he didn't know which ones to ask. He finally pulled one out that seemed appropriate.

"That means we've already met, doesn't it," Bart guessed.

"In the past? Yep," Wally's wide grin returned to his face as he added, "I met you for the first time right after you met your Grandpa."

"I… I met my Grandpa? Will meet my Grandpa?" Bart stammered.

"You sure will," Wally placed his hands on Bart's shoulders and looked him in the eye, "I'm really sorry I didn't tell you sooner. For one I wasn't even sure if you'd believe me. And I don't know if telling you will stuff things up. I really hope it doesn't."

"It's ok. I think I understand," Bart started to smile, "I'm going to meet my grandpa."

Bart enveloped Wally in a hug.

"What's this for?" Wally asked as he returned the hug.

"I'll do it. I'll go to the past," Bart mumbled into Wally's shirt before he let go.

"We'll build them outside," Neutron suddenly interjected, he was holding several blue prints and a jumble of wires, "Learnt the hard way that sometimes things go 'kaboom'"

Wally and Bart watched the man wander back outside.

"Guess that explains the scar," Wally laughed to himself. Bart just rolled his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be called “He Receives Comfort like Cold Porridge” and will be in the past.
> 
> There’s not a lot to go on when it comes to Neutron/Nathaniel in the series, so I’ve made him slightly unhinged and a bit of a genius.
> 
> Updates will be slowing down now as I’m back at uni, so there’s no guarantee of how much time I’ll be able to allocate to writing unfortunately. Hopefully I’ll be able to successfully juggle my time, but we’ll see.
> 
> Don’t forget to review :)


	11. He Receives Comfort Like Cold Porridge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dick confronts Bart and Artemis makes a small appearance.

**Chapter 11 – He Receives Comfort Like Cold Porridge **

Bart had somehow managed to avoid Dick for a good two weeks before his luck ran out. He knew he'd made a blunder when he tried to avoid the subject of time travel, and really he should have expected the topic to come up. It was so plausible that it was what had actually happened. But when Dick mentioned it he'd frozen and hadn't been able to think of what to say.

"Hey Bart" Dick drawled when they finally ran into each other, "If I didn't know better, I'd almost think you were avoiding me."

"Oh, hey Nightwing. I wasn't avoiding you."

"Could've fooled me," Dick wrapped an arm around Bart and dragged him off somewhere private to talk. That somewhere private turned out to be Wally's holographic shrine.

"So, what have you been up to?" Bart tried and failed to act normal.

"I've been thinking," Dick started, "about a couple of… _inconsistencies_. I had a theory, which I thought I'd disproved, but now I'm beginning to question some of the evidence."

"What sort of theory?" Bart asked nervously.

"Well, I thought someone was hiding something. And I thought I'd found out what that something was. But more recently, I'm beginning to question if I learnt the whole truth."

_Not good, not good, not good, not good._

"Dick, what are you talking about?"

Dick's eyes visibly narrowed despite his mask.

"Please don't pretend you don't know."

"I don't-"

"You're still hiding something Bart. You were clever about it. Almost as good as bat," Dick smirked, "But not quite."

"How could you say that? I told you things I've never told anyone else!" Bart attempted to deflect Nightwing with anger. It didn't work.

"How did you know my real name?"

"Oh, that. You were unmasked."

"Is that how you knew Tim's and Garfield's as well?"

"Yeah."

"Why was getting a DNA sample 'such a _Dick Grayson_ thing to do'?" Dick almost sounded angry.

"Well… That's-"

"How did you find out so much information in the future if you were a slave most of the time?" Dick's voice was steadily increasing in volume and grit.

"I… I grew up with-"

"I thought you'd told me your whole story, but you never mentioned how you learnt such intimate information. Who told you Bart?"

"It…It was…"

"Why did you specify the future when you claimed that Wally couldn't have time travelled?" Dick's voice suddenly got a lot softer, undoubtedly because he knew that it was the one question Bart couldn't ignore.

"I… I… I can't."

It was a mistake Bart hadn't even realised he'd made.

"Please. Bart, just tell me the truth."

"I'm sorry, I can't. I promised. I'm sorry," Bart's voice was wracked with a sob.

"It's Wally. Isn't it."

Bart nodded, his eyes full of unshed tears.

"He… He should have been back by now," the tears started to flow free.

Dick let out a heavy sigh as he pulled Bart into a tight hug.

"It's ok. It's going to be ok."

"But…" Bart choked on his words as his body was wracked by sobs, "he's not back. He should've been back. Why isn't he back?"

For a long while, the only sound was Bart crying. Dick simply rubbed his back as the kid let out everything that had been bottled up inside him for so long. Bart didn't want to think about how long it had been since he'd last cried. It would've been before he met Wally. Once he ran out of tears, a silence settled over the two of them. It was Bart who broke it.

"I'll tell you," Bart mumbled into Dick's shirt before he pulled away and rubbed his tear-stained face, "I'll tell you everything. But I don't think you're going to like it."

"I'm sure I'll manage," Dick swept the room with his eyes before plastering on a smile, "Not here though, let's go get something to eat back on Earth."

"Sounds good," Bart returned the smile as they walked away from Wally's hologram.

* * *

Artemis moved silently behind a tree. Although she was certain Nightwing would already know that she was there, she didn't want to spoil the moment. She hadn't realised how much Bart had been confiding in Nightwing recently. A smile wavered weakly on her lips as the pair walked past her hiding spot. As she continued to watch them leave, Artemis thought of how much Bart was like Wally. This only served to remind her why she was there in the first place and she slowly walked over to Wally's hologram.

"Hey Baywatch," she whispered with a small smile as she sat down.

Artemis almost always came here after a mission to talk to Wally. Whether it actually helped her or not, she couldn't really tell. It had been nearly 3 months but it still felt so raw. It was as though there was a hole in her chest that was never going to heal.

"I miss you," she breathed the words as a tear rolled down her cheek.

Too often it felt like she was the only one who wasn't coping but after seeing Dick comfort Bart, Artemis allowed herself a moment of weakness. She let her tears fall freely and hugged her knees close to her chest. Maybe one of these days she was going to be alright. Maybe soon she wouldn't feel so hollow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be called "Your Tale, Sir, Would Cure Deafness" and will be in the future.
> 
> Please review :)


	12. Your Tale, Sir, Would Cure Deafness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wally and Bart go off scavenging. Tales are told, Bonding is had and a mysterious and exciting name drop !

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not really important, quick pre-author's note letting you know I've gone back and had a look at some past chapters and done some editing if there's anyone interesting in re-reading. The story hasn't changed, just a few tiny tweaks to the way it was written and I also spotted a few missed words.
> 
> There's also an exciting announcement about this story in my end author's note so pay attention to it!

**Chapter 12 – Your Tale, Sir, Would Cure Deafness**

Bart had to admit that Neutron – Nathaniel, whatever – at least _tried_ to accommodate himself and Wally but there was no helping how small his 'home' was. Bart ended up sleeping underneath the table while Wally was shoved in between him and Nathaniel. Not that he was going to sleep anyway. As far as Bart was concerned, Neutron still hadn't proved he was trustworthy; and the man kept muttering something about crashing the mode in his sleep. It was setting Bart's nerves on edge.

Insomnia was nothing new to Bart, but that night it was different. His mind buzzed with the new information from Wally's 'explanation'. Everything was uncanny yet comforting; exciting, but terrifying.

_A time stream without the Reach Apocalypse… And I'm going to go there. And Grandpa won't be dead. And I'll get to meet him. All those heroes who died now won't. I might even meet some of them! What if-_

A loud snore jostled Bart from his thoughts and he watched as Neutron turned in his sleep, smacking his lips as he moved. Bart's whole body tensed – he was still completely unnerved that there was less than a metre between him and the man who murdered his grandpa.

_But he's not dead. He won't be dead. You'll meet him and everything will be fixed. It's ok to have a little hope now._

Bart's mind continued to whirl with a thousand different thoughts as he lay in the dark. Before he knew it, his sleepless night had passed and he could see the sun begin to rise outside the makeshift shelter.

* * *

There was once a time when Wally would have denied the similarities between himself and Bart wholeheartedly, but since meeting Bart here in the future, he couldn't deny it, and it even made him proud. For one thing, Bart was apparently a genius. While Wally had considered himself well above average when it came to things like science, Bart was on a whole other playing field. One look at Nathaniel's plans for the time machine and he was already suggesting improvements and pointing out flaws. Wally was struggling to even grasp the very basics of the design, which was a lot more frustrating than he let on.

In attempt to forget how much Bart's genius irked him, Wally decided he needed to go off and scavenge. The fact that they had also practically eaten all of Nathaniel's food in the few days they had been there might have had something to do with that idea as well.

So, as it was, that was how Bart and Wally left Nathaniel to his rantings and ravings and went in search of food and other supplies in the areas surrounding Mount Justice. It didn't take Wally long to find the task boring and he took to rambling about his friends and family and the life he'd lead since he'd become Kid Flash. Bart listened to his stories with awe, which delighted Wally although he tried his hardest not to let it show.

In a convoluted manner, he somehow managed to tell Bart about his parents, his Aunt Iris and Uncle Barry, the Garricks who were practically like grandparents to him.

"My honorary Great Grandparents! I know about them," Bart had piped up with a bit of a forced smile.

Wally held a similar expression as he continued his tale. He told Bart about finding out his Uncle was the Flash and how he'd come to have the same powers and become Kid Flash. He talked about meeting Dick and Roy. His other team mates – M'gann, Connor and Kaldur. He spoke of the early days of the team with fondness. When he started to talk about Artemis, he croaked a little as he realised how much he missed her, but nevertheless told Bart about all their early bickering. How it took him forever to realise he loved her. He stopped short of telling Bart how much he missed his family and friends. He didn't want to burden the kid and he was sure Bart missed his family just as much if not more.

The pair had long ceased their quest for supplies and sat in an abandoned house in a desolate small town as they ate some of the food they'd acquired.

"And, well, then there's all the newer heroes, they're all really good people: Wonder Girl, whose real name is Cassie; Beast Boy, real name Garfield; Blue Beetle real na-."

"Blue B-Beetle isn't a hero." Bart spluttered and visibly tensed as he interrupted Wally's spiel, "He's a traitor… A _murderer_."

Bart's eyes seemed to glaze over at his last statement and nearly made Wally shudder when he realised the kid was undoubtedly speaking from experience.

"Of course he was a hero!" Wally attempted to take on a light tone to explain but it came off more exasperated, "How could you not know that? You and he- wait no, never mind, spoilers. But Jaime was- _is_ -a hero… Jaime's the man – the _human_ – trapped inside the armour… The Reach took control of him. He's not evil… Only the Reach are."

An awkward silence filled the small room in such a way that it was almost tangible.

"But," Bart began slowly, a confused expression at rest on his face, "Everyone said he betrayed humanity."

"Oh… Well, I guess no one knew the truth… Of course! That's where you came in. Come in. Whatever. No one would've known that Jaime wasn't in control if you hadn't gone back in time to keep him off mode. You can stop him from betraying humanity!"

"Crash," Bart said softly as he eyed his cousin with disbelief.

"You're hanging out with Nathaniel too much," Wally chuckled lightly.

"Am not… He still creeps me out."

"Right with you there."

"He killed my Grandpa," Bart said softly, "no matter what you say about the Reach controlling him, It was still his hands and I don't think I'll ever be able to look passed that. Blue Beetle too. That makes even less sense."

"I get it. Or at least I think I get it. Chances are I don't completely understand and I probably never will. But you're being totally reasonable…," Wally placed a reassuring hand on Bart's shoulder and let a knowing smirk appear on his face, "And I'm _sure_ once you meet Jaime the two of you will be the best of friends. Don't worry about it too much."

"Whatever you say Wally."

* * *

The more Wally told Bart about this alternate timeline he had a hand in creating, the more Bart struggled to believe his distant cousin. Especially this stuff about Blue Beetle being a hero. It just didn't fit with everything Bart had seen, heard and come to believe in his relatively short life. After that strange conversation, the silence became too much to bare and they soon left to gather supplies again. They searched far and wide. Much to Bart's surprise, they found more than enough to last them a week (or two – he wasn't really sure with this sped up metabolism stuff.)

They were on their way home, massive bags of supplies in tow, when Wally asked a question. In hindsight, Bart wondered why it took him so long to ask it.

"Bart, I need to ask, what happened to everyone? All of Earth's heroes. Our family I already know but… My friends. Are they… Are they all dead?"

"I don't know for certain, but probably yes," Bart schooled his voice to be calm and soft, "I only know what happened to some of them. There was a group of members of the Justice League, who left Earth before the invasion. From what I've been told they were convicted for a crime they didn't commit and never came back. They probably died… Did that happen in your time too?

"Something similar," Bart wait for a moment, but it was clear Wally didn't want to say more on the topic.

"And I guess, since I'm starting from the beginning, I should tell you… Your mum and dad… And also the Garricks, they died during the initial invasion. I'm sorry."

"It's ok," again Wally didn't address the topic, as though it's what he expected to hear.

"I suppose you know about the Flash dying… and, well… you took up the mantle after him... Until you died about a year later…"

Wally simply nodded in understanding but had a distant look flash across his eyes for a moment – an eternity to a speedster.

"I'm sorry," Bart mumbled when he didn't know how to continue.

"Don't say sorry. It doesn't bother me too much. What… What happened to Dick and his family, you know, the Bats?"

"They're all gone too. Batman was one of the League members who never came back. The rest of the family… I met one of them when I was younger, not long before he was killed. He told us about the rebellion they'd tried to stage in the early years of the invasion. Said his older brother became the Batman. I think that must've been Dick."

"Yeah sounds like him," Wally sighed.

"The Reach found their base and wiped almost all of them out. The bat I met said he made it out with his little brother but… Batman – Dick – sacrificed himself so they could escape alive."

Wally was silent for a minute.

"Which bat did you meet?" Wally asked before he muttered another sentence that Bart barely made out, "I didn't think Tim had a little brother."

"He never told me his name. Just called himself Red Hood. He was a really weird guy with a white streak in his dark hair. Actually, he seemed really scary at first – the kind of person you'd almost expect to kill you in your sleep."

Wally gave Bart that look he'd come to expect whenever he said something particularly morbid. One that showed how surprised Wally was but also tinged with sadness and worry. It didn't really make sense to Bart so he continued his story about Red Hood.

"He didn't pay anyone around him much attention until he found out about my family being related to some of the old heroes. He warmed up to us almost instantly."

"But he never told you his real name? Weird. I don't remember hearing about anyone called Red Hood… Maybe Tim stopped being Robin… What happened to the little brother? What was his name?"

"Tim was his little brother, and he… I don't think he survived long after the rebellion. Red Hood never gave me any details and didn't really like to talk about it."

"I didn't know Tim had another older brother…" Wally trailed off, a frown stretched over his face as though he'd just had an odd thought come to mind, "What happened to Red Hood?"

"It was a heart attack of all things, considering how much of a tough guy he was. I was there when it happened," Bart felt his face contort as he successfully stopped himself from crying, he hadn't known Red Hood for long but he was almost like family, "One of the Reach electrocuted him and his heart just gave out. The weirdo died with a smile on his face."

"I wonder if he's still around in the new timeline…Anyway… What happened to everyone else? You know… The other heroes. My original team, what about them? Supey, Miss M, Kaldur?"

"Kaldur'ahm the traitor had his mind messed with by Miss Martian and while he was weak Cheshire and Sportsmaster killed him. M'gann was killed by Black Manta in retaliation. That was before anyone even realised what the Reach were up to."

Wally's face took on a pained expression.

"If he was dead… What happened to Artemis?" he asked quickly.

"She was killed by Kaldur'ahm. Did that not happen in your timeline?"

"No. Yes. It did. But she didn't die. Kaldur was never a traitor, he was a spy. And if he died before anyone knew… Artemis was under cover too. What happened to her…? What happened to Tigress?" Wally almost seemed to be panicking.

"Who's Tigress?" Bart asked, his voice wavered slightly in concern for Wally.

"She was-" Wally cut himself short and took a deep breath, "You know what? It doesn't matter. None of this matters anymore, right? We have another timeline to get to where none of the bad stuff happened."

Wally smiled, but Bart could tell his heart wasn't completely in it.

"Anyway, what about the other heroes? Do you know what happened to everyone else?"

"I only know that the majority of them were killed when the Reach crushed the rebellion lead by Batman – Dick Batman – anyone who got out, I really don't know what happened to them."

They continued to travel back to Mount Justice in silence when Bart decided to tell Wally something else. He wasn't entirely sure why he did, he just figured it was the sort of thing Wally would want to know.

"Our family… still had good times in the camp," Bart stopped when Wally looked at him with a blank face, but it soon turned into a small, encouraging smile, so he continued, "Grandma – Iris – she made sure every birthday was celebrated… And she was one of the lucky ones in the end, lived to an old age and went peacefully in her sleep. Aunt Dawn always tried to be happy for those around her; no matter what was happening. She died when an unstable building she and some others were in collapsed. The Reach never let us search for her body."

Tears started to slide down Bart's cheeks and every now and then he let out a sob while he continued to talk. Wally wrapped an arm around his cousin.

"Dad… I loved my Dad, and my Mum. They protected me so much, I know. D-Dad just disappeared. It might've been the Reach… taking him for experiments, but the people in the sewers could have… I don't like to think about it. Mum stopped eating not long after that; she collapsed one day and didn't get back up." Bart's voice hitched with his last words and he began to shake as he lost control of the sobs. He felt Wally pull him into an embrace and was glad for it.

"Shh, hey, listen to me Bart. It's gonna be ok. You hear me?" Wally stroked Bart's hair as he tried to comfort the small boy, "Everything's going to be ok. And you know that amazing family you just told me about? Where you're going, they're still alive. And they're still those same amazing people. And Bart I promise you, they will be so incredibly proud of you."

Bart looked up at his distant cousin and somehow managed a smile.

"Sounds pretty crash," he whispered with a hoarse voice as he rubbed his tear stained face.

"Ha. Speaking of which, let's get back to that mad, time machine building, scientist," Wally wrapped an arm around Bart's shoulders and the pair continued their trip back to Mount Justice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SUPER IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: I am going to be writing a spinoff/side story to this fic! It will be about the Rebellion and some other stuff mentioned in this chapter and told from Jason's perspective. It'll be a one or maybe two shot and cover some stuff that I wanted to write about but realised I couldn't when telling the story from Bart/Wally's perspective. I have way too many head cannons about the timeline Bart's from and I just couldn't smoosh them all into this story.
> 
> The next chapter in this fic will be called "At this Hour Lie at My Mercy All Mine Enemies" and will be set in the past. I am yet to decide if I'll write the Jason side story next, or wait until after I've finished this fic – let me know your thoughts on that.
> 
> Other, not as exciting stuff, you might like to know that this chapter was originally going to be a lot longer, but my ideas for what would happen kept growing so I split it in two. The second half I've actually decided to stick on the other side of the next chapter which should hopefully make for more interesting twists and turns as things are revealed.
> 
> Thank you for being patient with me and these slower updates, I'm in my final semester of my bachelor at uni and life's been pretty intense because of it. Quite literally the only reason I had time to write this update was because they gave us an extension on an assignment.
> 
> Until next time, and don't forget to review !


	13. At this Hour Lie at My Mercy All Mine Enemies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bart and Dick search for signs and clues amongst the ruins of Mount Justice when an unwelcome guest arrives.

**Chapter 13 – "At this Hour Lie at My Mercy All Mine Enemies"**

After he'd revealed the truth, Bart told Dick everything he knew about Wally's escapades in the future, but it only served to make Dick miss his best friend even more. It was approaching the sixth month mark since Wally's 'disappearance', and Dick was conflicted to say the least.

On one hand, it was encouraging to see his friends maturely working through their grief, but on the other hand, there really wasn't a need to. Not to mention he had to add another secret to his ever growing list, but at least this one wasn't his idea. Dick had actually been quite taken aback at the desperation behind Bart's plea when he'd begged him not to tell anyone else the truth about Wally. And against his better judgement, Dick had agreed to keep it a secret, if for nothing else than to keep Wally's loved ones from having false hope. Although Dick didn't see it as entirely 'false' hope. No, Dick was ever the optimist and truly believed that any day now Wally would show up and everything would be right in the world again.

_Well, not_ everything _, especially with that new Light operative the 'Red Hood' running around… but it would definitely lift everyone's spirits._

Surprisingly, it was Bart who was the gloomiest of late. Dick had a front row seat to watch him slowly lose all hope. No one else knew the real reason for his depression; most of them assumed it was just a delayed reaction to Wally's apparent death. It wasn't as though Bart had been visibly grieving – as far as he had been concerned, there was nothing to grieve about! But the days ticked on, and still there was no sign of Wally. It was all Dick could do to keep Bart from giving up entirely.

In recent days, Dick had been working tirelessly to find answers to two burning questions:

a) What happened to Wally that resulted in him being transported to the future? And,

b) Why hadn't he made it back yet?

So far, those questions had remained a mystery. Every lead he and Bart chased down had been a dead end. As it was, they found themselves amongst the ruins of mount justice to look for any clue or sign… again.

"What are we doing back here?" Bart grumbled.

"We're covering every possibility," Dick said jovially as he used his wrist computer to scan the area, "And we both know this is the most logical location for Wally to reappear. Arrive. Travel to. Whatever you'd call it."

"But we've been here 10 times already! We have searched every inch of this place and come up with nothing. Not even a lead to chase down."

"Yes, but every other lead we've found has gone nowhere. So if we manage to find something here, it might be the one that actually pans out."

"Probably wouldn't," Bart mumbled to himself.

"We can't give up," Dick continued in a more serious tone, "no matter what, even if it takes years to find anything… Wally deserves that much."

"Why can't you just…" Bart paused, before continuing in a soft, almost inaudible voice, "Have you considered the possibility, that by coming back in time, I've erased the other time line… and Wally with it?"

"Well… you're here. And you're from that timeline. And you didn't disappear after you changed the future. So no, I haven't considered that as a possibility, and you shouldn't either," Dick answered with a smile that could cure cancer, "We search again, and we keep on searching until we find a sign, and we never. Give. Up."

As Dick punctuated each word, he heard a faint hum that slowly grew, and grew in the air around them.

"Can you hear that," Bart whispered hoarsely.

"Yeah, it sounds like–"

" **Known energy impulse detected** ," Dick's computer suddenly cut in, followed by a blaring alarm.

Dick knew his eyes visibly widened, even behind his mask, as he took in the readings his computer was displaying. He began typing away at it, shutting off the alarm. Hope was rising in his chest as he raced to confirm his suspicions.

"What is it? What's happening?" Bart queried rapidly.

"A sign," Dick replied with a smirk.

Before he could provide any more of an explanation, the hum grew louder and more distinct. He spotted what looked like a small ball of energy forming in what was once the centre of the room.

"Bart look," Dick pointed to the ball, but before he even finished speaking, the ball had started to grow in size. Lightning flickered around it, and struck out, hitting the ground around them.

"Nightwing! Is this what I think it is?" Bart called out over the noise with a grin on his face.

_No. This is wrong. Something's wrong._

Dick didn't get the chance to verbalise his thoughts as a bolt of lightning hit the ground in front of him, forcing him to jump back.

"Bart get back!" Dick yelled over the crackling that sounded around the room.

The ball expanded until it was twice the size of a person, and its centre began to grow brighter, almost blinding with its intensity. There was a shape that started to form in the illuminated core of the ball, and lightning continued to strike the ground in the immediate area. As the 'mysterious' shape took a physical form, Dick could feel his heart hammering in his chest.

_Something is wrong. This isn't right!_

The ball of energy slowly faded away, and a time machine identical to Barts landed in a pile of rubble with smoke drifting off its hull.

"It can't be," Bart spoke in awe as he dashed to the door of the machine, "He's here, he's finally h–"

"Bart get back," Dick growled as he pulled out his Escrima Sticks.

"What? Why?" Bart turned and stared at Dick in disbelief.

"Something's not right. Trust me and get back."

As Dick spoke, the door to the machine opened and a thick cloud of smoke drifted out, shielding the identity of its occupant. Bart had barely turned back around to look at the machine when a large fist smashed into his face, sending him flying into a pile of rubble.

"Kid Flash!" Dick called out as he rushed to Bart's side and helped him up.

"No… No, no, no, no, no." Dick heard Bart mutter to himself as he helped him to his feet.

Dick didn't have time to console Bart before he was pushing the two of them out of the way of a plasma blast. And that was when Dick finally saw who had stepped out of the time machine – Black Beetle! His beetle still very much intact. Dick grabbed several projectiles from his belt and threw them at the alien although he knew full well they'd do little to no damage. He used the momentary distraction to pull himself and Bart behind a shield of rubble.

"This isn't real. This can't be happening," Bart was mumbling to himself.

"Oi Bart, snap out of it!" Dick grabbed Bart by his shoulders and forced the boy to look at him, "I need you with me."

"Right… Sorry."

"I'm going to call for backup and I'll need your help to distract him while we wait. Now go."

Without even waiting for a response, Dick was back over the rubble and throwing several more projectiles at Black Beetle while he simultaneously clicked on his com.

"Nightwing to Watchtower. Nightwing to Watchtower. Requesting immediate back-up at Mount Justice. Repeat, we require immediate back-up–"

Dick may have fought hard as he radioed in, but he never got to hear the reply. He never stood a chance as one of Black Beetle's staples caught him. It was lights out the second he hit the wall.

* * *

It took Bart a few moments to calm down enough to be of any use in a fight, but that was a few moments too long.

_This isn't happening._

Bart felt frozen in place as he watched Nightwing get taken out by Black Beetle.

_Black Beetle… This isn't possible. This isn't happening!_

With a shout, Bart sped at his enemy, using his momentum to strike with great force… But his attack was easily knocked away.

"A speedster," Black Beetle let out a low rumble that very well may have been a chuckle, "I'd say I was lucky if I believed in that human nonsense."

Bart ran at Black Beetle again, in a vain second attempt that ended the same way as the first.

"Silly boy. You stand no chance," Black Beetle jeered as he deflected another of Bart's attacks, "You are alone. Your only ally defeated."

"How did you get here?" Bart growled as he prepared himself to attack again, "How did you get that machine!?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Black Beetle laughed as he easily knocked Bart away again, "The future. We raided your little hideout. Your friends are dead."

"No," Bart breathed as he stumbled to his feet, "You're lying!"

"Your disbelief makes no difference to me. I am here for one purpose alone – to kill you and your family. Every being on this miserable planet who possesses supernaturally enhanced speed will die by my hand–"

Before Black Beetle had finished his cliché villain monologue, Bart had charged him head on – his judgement skewed by chaotic emotions. This error in judgement cost him dearly as he all but ran straight into Black Beetle's grip. As the hand around his throat tightened, Bart felt himself being lifted from the ground and all the while, Black Beetle had been continuing his monologue.

"–And the Reach are always victorious," Black Beetle finished with a cancerous grin.

Bart was terrified as he struggled to breathe; black spots began to dance across his vision.

_But, if Wally is dead… That would explain why he never made it back._

Fear blocked Bart from thinking straight and stopped him from even thinking to vibrate out of the hold. As he stared into a face that he had hoped to never see again outside of his memories and nightmares, a small part of his mind truly believed this was the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who's finally on holidays ! (It's me. I'm on holidays.)
> 
> Next chapter will be called "Lest too Light Winning Make the Prize Light" and will be set in the future.
> 
> Yeah, sorry for the cliff-hanger… Although we all know I'm not really sorry, I just couldn't help myself and had to end the scene here for dramatic effect. Also, this was my first attempt at a 'fight scene', albeit a short one, so any feedback on how you think it went would be super :)
> 
> I'll be getting back to updating a lot more regularly now (woo-hoo!). And although I'm on uni holidays, I'm still working, and anyone who's ever worked in retail during Christmas time knows how busy it gets so we'll see how it goes. But no more 2 month breaks between chapters !
> 
> Don't forget to drop a review :D


	14. Lest too Light Winning Make the Prize Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wally trains Bart while Bart and Nathaniel build time machines.  
> Bart goes back in time, and not long after Mount Justice has some surprise, and not very welcome visitors!

**Chapter 14 – Lest too Light Winning Make the Prize Light**

A full week had passed since Bart and Wally's arrival at Mount Justice and they were making steady progress with the time machines. When Wally's thoughts flittered to the future, and he thought of what Bart's trip to the past would entail, it dawned on him that he should start training Bart to use his powers and how to hold himself in a fight. While the kid's health had improved immensely since his escape from the Reach, he was still skinny and lacked muscle – something that could ultimately be a hindrance to his mission.

Wally began training Bart how to fight both with and without his powers, and Bart was truly the grandson of the Flash – practically a natural, he mastered his speedster abilities with ease. He wasn't too bad at learning the other fighting skills either.

During one of their training sessions, Wally had a thought… or three.

_After I disappear in the past, Bart's going to want to tell everyone that I'm not dead and that I'll turn up at any moment. But what if I don't make it back? There are so many things that could go wrong. I could miss the right date by years, Nathaniel might not be able to finish my machine without Bart's help, the Reach could find us and kill us… and then everyone back home will be waiting for me to come back but I never will and it'll hurt them so much more than thinking I just died._

Those particular thoughts he attributed solely to the fact he hung around with paranoid bats too much. They were thoughts that caused him to stop right in the middle of a lesson with Bart.

"When you go to the past, you can't tell anyone about me being here in the future," Wally announced with a surprisingly level voice – the sort of voice he might have used to talk about the weather.

"What? Why?" Bart's fists were still half-heartedly raised in front of him as he looked at Wally with a puzzled expression.

"Just until I get back of course," Wally quickly covered, "Like, just in case I don't make it back on the right date. I don't want everyone worrying and besides, it'll make a great surprise, ah man, their faces will be priceless!"

"Uh… Sure. Hadn't thought of that."

"Promise me Bart. Promise me you won't tell anyone until I'm back," Wally couldn't quite stop his voice from turning to a serious tone.

"Ok, I promise," Bart gave him a sceptical look, but Wally accepted that that was the best response he could really hope for.

"Now remember what I said, keep your arms up like this."

As they returned to their lesson on the basics of fighting, Wally pushed his thoughts of 'what if' to the side, but that didn't stop them from returning many times in the days that followed.

* * *

Time flew by quickly as days turned into weeks and weeks became months all the while Wally had the pleasure of watching Bart grow and come out of his shell. Slowly but surely his younger cousin warmed up to him and he began to recognise the boisterous young man he met in another time.

Wally had been teaching Bart how to make a wind funnel with his speed when he had an epiphany. Followed by a bit of paranoia.

"Bart, if anyone ever asks who taught you how to fight and use your powers, you can't tell them it was me."

"But–"

"No buts. Say it was somebody else, say it was your Dad, ok? No one can know I travelled to the future."

"Ok… But… You keep giving me all these rules… to stop others from figuring it out but what if I stuff up? What if someone works it out? What if I slip up?" Bart's voice was steadily growing faster, "What if it stuffs up the whole mission? What if I make the timestreamevenworse?WhatifIdon'tstopptheReach?Whatif–"

"Bart, stop," Wally held up a hand in front of Bart's face to make the young speedster stop talking, "Don't let yourself think that way. You don't need to get so worked up. You'll be fine. I know you'll manage."

"But what if I don't remember everything you've told me? What if I'm not good enough?"

"No one's ever really 'good enough'. We can always do better, always train harder. As much as I'm trying to train you and prepare you for this, we both know I can't tell you every little detail of what you need to do during the mission. It's your mission and every decision ultimately has to be made by you. But I have faith in you Bart. You'll do good, and I know you'll succeed."

* * *

_Today is the day._

It had been early in the morning when that realisation hit Bart. He was working away on his time machine when he realised it was close enough to being finished that he would probably be able to leave that day. They'd been living with Nathaniel for a few months now, and he'd warmed up the guy a bit even though he was still the strangest person Bart had ever met. They'd started working separately on the two machines to try and speed up the process. Bart worked on his, and Nathaniel worked on Wally's, while Wally went out and searched for supplies. It had been that way for a few weeks now.

Bart had been honestly surprised by how easily he had managed to understand the engineering behind Nathaniel's time machine. He understood it far better than Wally, which Bart was pretty certain annoyed his cousin although he'd tried not to show it.

"How's it coming?" Nathaniel bugged as he wandered over to where Bart was working on his machine… instead of working on Wally's like he was supposed to be.

It was a common thing for Nathaniel to attempt conversation with Bart, but it always lent on the side of awkward.

"Almost finished," Bart replied without even turning around.

"Wish I could go along."

"Sorry, only seats one."

"You understand, the trip to the past will fry the machine's circuitry. This is a one way ticket."

"Does this look like a future worth returning to?" Bart gestured around the wreckage of Mount Justice, which would already have been a grim picture without the grey skies and the eternally falling ash.

Bart returned to his work, doing the final tuning on the machine and before he knew it, he was done.

_It's finished. I've done it! I'm going to the past!_

"Well, I better get in character, Neutron," Bart knew the name would set Nathaniel off but did it anyway as he stood up from the machine.

"Please, don't use that name," Bart heard Neutron say as he zipped over to their shelter to say good bye to Wally only to find him gone.

_Oh. Right, he went scavenging._

Bart grabbed a piece of paper and in milliseconds had scrawled a quick note for Wally and left it for him to find.

"I was Neutron for too many years," Nathaniel was saying as Bart dashed past him again.

He quickly put on his new suit that they'd made out of Wally's old Kid Flash one. They'd resized it and changed the colour scheme. Wally had also managed to find him some goggles while he was out scavenging one day for the final touch of his 'superhero speedster uniform'. He didn't have a name for himself yet, but Wally had told him with a knowing smirk that he'd work that out for himself in the past.

"Through too much destruction," it sounded like the end of Nathaniel's spiel about his old name, so Bart dashed to his side. Nathaniel pulled out the small blue ball he'd made to cure his own Reach made afflictions and passed it to Bart, "Curing me and saving Flash's life, you know, it's only the beginning."

"I know Nathaniel, big mission, lots to do, better get to it."

Bart quickly jumped into his time machine and could feel his heart hammering at speeds that would've killed an ordinary human. He took a moment to doubt if he should wait for Wally to get back. A moment to doubt if he was ready, and to question if he should spend a few more weeks or months training. But those thoughts only lasted a second. He powered up the machine, and in an instant was on his way.

* * *

Wally had been scavenging for a few hours. He needed to travel quite far these days to find anything of use.

"Hey Nathaniel," he called out as he sped to stop beside the man and his time machine, "How's it coming?"

A quick scan of their 'camp' showed Wally that something important was missing.

"Where's Bart? Where's his machine?"

"Gone. Both of them," Nathaniel replied solemnly, "Didn't he say goodbye?"

"No," Wally replied in shock.

"Oh, I thought that's what he was doing in the shelter earlier… er, sorry. Would've tried to stop him if I'd known."

"The shelter?" Wally muttered quietly to himself before he sped over to it.

Bart wasn't there. Wally didn't know why, for that split second, he had thought he might be. Instead there was a piece of paper sitting on top of what Wally called a bed with his name scrawled across it. He picked it up and read the short message left behind for him.

 

> **_Please don't be mad. Saying 'goodbye' was never going to feel right anyway, because we'll see each other again. No giving up now I'm gone, okay? You have to make it back, not just for me but for your friends and family too._ **
> 
> **_I'll see you soon,_ **
> 
> **_Bart._ **

"But I wanted to remind him–" Wally started to talk to himself out loud, but Nathaniel had wandered over and interrupted his thoughts.

"Oh believe me, he knew. Bart's incredibly smart for his age."

Wally jumped out of his skin in surprise, but quickly composed himself.

"Yeah. Yeah he definitely is."

"He'll probably be perfectly fine," Nathaniel tried and failed at reassurance.

"Oh yeah," Wally answered with false bravado and a hint of sarcasm, "Let's hurry up with that other machine then!"

_So I can have a word to Bart about the importance of proper goodbyes!_

* * *

It turned out that Nathaniel hadn't actually been that far behind Bart in the making of Wally's machine, which to Wally indicated that good old Neutron had been wasting a lot of his time idly chatting with Bart. But only three days after Bart's departure, Wally's machine was all but finished. So naturally, they'd encountered a new problem. The final part had gone missing. Wally swore that during his scavenging he'd managed to collect two of this particular part – one for his machine, one for Bart's, but Nathaniel was swearing that there was only ever one and that they needed to go find another.

They spent the better half of a day looking high and low but could not find anything that remotely resembled what they needed. What was considered daylight in this time was rapidly coming to an end, so they trudged back to their camp… Only to find it crawling with Reach.

Wally and Nathaniel ducked behind a rock and peered over at the large group that had raided their 'home'. Even from where they were up on the mountain's ridge they could see several dozen Reach soldiers, scientists, but also Beetles Black and Blue. Worst of all, their focus seemed to be mainly on the time machine.

Wally used his goggles to zoom in on the Reach who were surrounding the machine and saw that a few scientists were looking over Nathaniel's blue prints and suddenly another scientist walked over with the piece of equipment they'd been looking for.

_I knew I picked two up. Of all the times to be a senile old goof Nathaniel!_

"They've worked out how to use the machine," He whispered to his companion, "and they found that missing piece, we're so screwed."

Nathaniel just looked at him funny and Wally sighed. He was tired. Tired of this bleak future, tired of Nathaniel for company, tired of the Reach always being a present threat. There was a small thought nudging him in the back of his mind, telling him that maybe now was as good a time as any to give up.

"I think when Bart left, his machine gave off an energy spike that alerted the Reach to our location," Nathaniel stated, but Wally just saw it as useless information and groaned.

_Which is why he should have waited! And why you shouldn't have been so lazy making the second machine!_

"You know what Nathaniel? Let's just go. Let them have the machine there's nothing they can do, Bart's already gone back and stopped them."

Wally went to stand up from their hiding spot, but Nathaniel held him back.

"You've got to be kidding me, aren't you thinking straight anymore? They'll send their own operative back to unfix it and they'll very likely be after Bart!" Nathaniel whispered through gritted teeth.

"Oh… Oh! We have to stop them! … How do we stop them?" Wally looked up at Nathaniel as his own mind raced to come up with a plan.

"You have to get in there and take off before they get the chance. Sneak around the edges until you find an opening and use your speed to be out of there before they even realise what's going on. You'll have to go in on your own though. I'd only be a hindrance, sorry."

"I think," Wally paused for a moment to actually truly think the idea over, and it wasn't as though he'd thought of anything better, "I think it might just work, I'll give it a shot."

"You'll only get one shot."

"I know Nathaniel. If this doesn't work, you'll need to be nearby too, in case you need to run in and pull the machine apart. As a plan B."

"Well, sure, if I must" Nathaniel grumbled a bit more under his breath, but Wally knew if it came down to it he wouldn't let him down.

The two of them crept down from where they were hiding and tried to stay low as they dashed between piles of rubble. The darkness of night had crept across the mountain, which aided to the stealth of their approach. They got as close as they possibly could without being spotted by the Reach and Wally could just hear Black Beetle and another member of the Reach talking beside the machine.

"You know it has to be me," Black Beetle was arguing, "There's no guarantee that you'll be able to control him."

"Blue Beetle has been completely on mode for 40 years now with near complete compliance from the host for 30 of those. He would be more than capable."

"We do not know what damage has been done by the meat that has already left this time. We need to go back even further, to before our invasion began, which is before Blue Beetle was under our control. It is not worth the risk. I am going and that is final."

Wally was frozen as he watched Black Beetle approach the time machine.

"You need to move. Now." Nathaniel growled from beside him.

Wally was up and over the mound they were hiding behind in an instant, and darting towards the time machine. He'd barely run two metres when Black Beetle had spun around and started shooting at him with his plasma canon, the villain was laughing raucously.

"Fool. Did you think my sensors would not detect you?"

_Crap._

Other Reach soldiers began firing at Wally as he desperately tried to get to the machine but they kept driving him back. He watched as a laughing Black Beetle squished himself into the machine and Wally pushed himself to run faster. To make it in time. But the door closed.

_Nonononononononono._

He was too late. Black Beetle had started up the machine. Wally ran in a useless circle around it as he tried to avoid the fire from the rest of the Reach soldiers. He heard more than saw a flash of lightning strike the machine and suddenly a wind picked up. It cut through Wally like a knife, and made his skin feel as though it was both frozen and on fire. He realised that the sensation was familiar to him, but before his mind could process where he had felt it before, a bright light consumed him and his vision went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be called "We are Such Stuff as Dreams are Made On" and will be set in the past.
> 
> Well, in case you hadn't noticed we're on the home stretch now !
> 
> I've tried so very hard to make this fic as canon as possible, but this chapter has a teeny, tiny bit of divergence in that I just couldn't work in the part where Nathaniel suddenly loses the collar and orange jumpsuit and the ash stops falling after Bart leaves. I tried to use it, but it never worked. Oh well still as canon as can be.
> 
> Please leave a review and tell me how you're feeling and thinking as we near the end of this story.
> 
> And I wanted to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and I hope you have an abundantly blessed New Year. Stay safe during this holiday season :)


	15. We are Such Stuff as Dreams are Made On

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Is Wally alive? Will Dick and Bart survive their encounter with Black Beetle?

** Chapter 15 – We are Such Stuff as Dreams are Made On **

Through closed eyes, Wally was vaguely aware that he was running. He could have sworn he had blacked out only a second ago, but his perception felt skewed and he had to wonder if he really had. And though he knew he was running, he couldn't feel his feet hit anything that remotely resembled the ground – he felt weightless. He dared not open his eyes for some irrational fear of what reality he would find if he did, so he kept on running. He realised that in addition to his odd weightlessness, he felt as though he was pulling something along with him, and then at other times it felt as though something was pulling him along. It was like a strange tug o' war, and he dared not guess who his opponent may be.

After a short mental debate, Wally plucked up the courage to open his eyes. The only way he could think to describe what he saw was equal amounts of dark and light that appeared to be battling for dominance over the other. It looked like a dance between a hundred thousand bolts of lightning and a starless, dark, and stormy night.

_I think I know what this is._

Wally looked to his right and saw something very surprising that probably disproved the theory he'd just developed. The time machine that Black Beetle had stolen was sitting directly parallel to him and almost looked like it wasn't moving at all.

_Okay, so maybe this isn't what I think it is?_

With his eyes open, Wally became disorientated when he felt himself tugged in the direction of the time machine, and nearly tripped in his effort to stay away. In a split second, Wally felt the dynamics change to him doing the pulling as he strained to get away from the machine's orbit. It definitely didn't work, but it did confirm Wally's suspicions that his tug o' war was with the time machine.

Wally looked down at his running feet to find that there was definitely no floor, which only added to the confusion he was feeling over physics. As he continued to run, Wally thought about how the sensations he was feeling reminded him of another time. While mulling over his sense of déjà-vu, memories returned to him – this was how it had felt when he thought he was going to die in the arctic all those months ago.

_So maybe this is the Speed Force? … Then how'd the time machine get here!?_

Wally barely had time to contemplate this when he saw out of the corner of his eye that the time machine had started to move closer towards him, but this time he was drawn closer to it instead of pulling away. As Wally collided with the machine, a bright light consumed him, followed by pain and unconsciousness.

But for a fleeting moment, he could have sworn he saw Dick and Bart.

* * *

Bart was afraid. Tears pricked his eyes as he struggled to breathe but that wasn't why he wanted to cry. No, Bart was holding back tears of despair for his dead cousin. Because that's what he truly believed – that Wally had died in the future. It was the only explanation that made any sense to Bart. He felt a tear escape and slide down his cheek. Black Beetle's grin widened at this, and surprisingly the death grip around Bart's throat loosened, only for Black Beetle to fling him to the ground. Bart's head hit rock with a resounding thwack. His vision became even more blurred and his head pounded.

"Oh meat, did you think your death would be quick and painless?" Black Beetle asked with a gruff voice as the hand that was around Bart's throat became a scythe, "Where's the glory in that?"

Bart squeezed his eyes shut tight as he waited for the inevitable. He was too tired and scared to try and escape, so he focused on the sound of his racing heart and held his breath. The scythe was removed from his neck, but rather than the pain that would have accompanied its killing blow, Bart felt himself scooped up into unknown arms. A gust of wind that lasted a quarter of a second was all the indication Bart had to tell him he had been moved. As he felt himself lowered to the ground Bart let out his held breath and opened his eyes.

For a moment, Bart was convinced that the person holding him was Wally. Black spots danced in his vision so all he could truly see was the striking red hair he'd come to associate with his cousin.

_But it's not Wally. Because Wally's gone._

And with those thoughts Bart closed his eyes and wished himself into a slumber. But when had Bart's wishes ever come true? He had barely closed his eyes when he felt himself jostled by the person holding him.

"Bart, hey, Bart come on stay with me, stay awake."

* * *

_A Few Minutes Earlier_

Wally woke up on his side, staring into a pile of rubble.

_Well… This is new._

He rolled onto his back and stared up at the sky and noticed that his ears were ringing. He could have sworn he heard someone talking nearby, but it was as though he was hearing them from underwater. He shook his head viciously as he stood up and the ringing settled down somewhat. He was standing on the edge of a large pile of rubble, and at the top of the mound sat the time machine that was stolen from him.

_Ok… What?_

Wally stumbled forward and peeked around the rubble, but what he saw made him freeze. He was instantly aware that he was still in the wreckage of Mount Justice, but that was a fleeting thought compared to what else was going on. Black Beetle was holding Bart by the throat and was obviously trying to crush the latter's windpipe. Wally watched in shock as Black Beetle tossed Bart to the ground and winced at the loud noise made when his head connected with cement.

Wally was about to run forward and intervene when he suddenly noticed the unconscious Nightwing stapled to the far wall.

_Dick?_

Thanks to his momentary distraction, Wally was only half aware of what was going on with Black Beetle and Bart. He turned back to them and was horrified to see a scythe resting on his cousin's neck. Without another thought Wally charged at Black Beetle; he caught the alien by surprise and easily knocked him away. Wally carefully, but quickly, picked Bart up off the ground and sped him behind a large rock. He looked down at the young man and for the first time took in the Kid Flash uniform he was sporting. He smiled lightly as he watched Bart's eyes open, but grew worried as he saw they were glazed over and unfocused.

_A concussion._

Bart's eyes had started to drift closed and Wally started to panic.

"Bart, hey, Bart come on stay with me, stay awake," he stammered as he shook the boy in an effort to keep him awake, "Open your eyes, you have to stay awake."

And luckily, Bart managed to listen; his eyes fluttered open but were still partially closed.

"Wa-ll-y," Bart slurred, "It's- rea-ll-y yo-u?"

"Hey, yeah, it's me," Wally blabbered as he propped his cousin up against the rock they were hiding behind, "I need you to keep yourself awake while I go deal with Black Beetle alright?"

"…Yeah," was Bart's slow reply.

Wally quickly glanced over the top of the rock and saw that Black Beetle was nearly back on his feet, he also noticed that Dick was beginning to stir. And that was when Wally finally realised that he didn't have a clue how to stop Black Beetle. So he bit back his rising fear and raced to Dick's side, got him free from the wall, and brought him back behind the rock in 3 seconds flat.

"It is useless to hide meat," Black Beetle growled, having fully recovered.

There was a small part of Wally that wanted nothing more than to grab Bart and Dick and run away. He was finally home; he could see all his friends and family again. But apparently the universe decided to throw one last deadly challenge his way before he would be allowed to return to the life he used to know.

_Come on Wall-man. You know what you have to do._

Not giving himself any time to change his mind and chicken out, Wally ran out from his hiding spot to face Black Beetle head on. With a glare that could rival a Bat's, Wally stared the menace down. He thought about all the pain the Reach had caused. He thought about Bart and what they had done to him. He thought about how this alien had tried to destroy the Earth, which had resulted in him being sent to the future in the first place. Away from his loved ones. He was prepared to channel all of those thoughts and feelings into this fight.

"How did you follow me here?" Black Beetle growled, "No matter, you have only delayed your fate, speedster."

Wally ignored Black Beetle's attempt to rile him up; instead, he ran. In a circle to be precise; once he'd created a vortex around Blue Beetle, he started leaving it every few seconds to punch the distracted alien. That plan of attack didn't last very long. Black Beetle was barely fazed regardless of how relentless Wally was. When Black Beetle started to return fire with plasma beans, Wally couldn't shake the feeling that was screwed.

_Yeah, I have no idea how to stop this guy._

Wally quickly gave up his idea of the vortex and began running spontaneously about the ruins, always being mindful to stay away from Bart and Dick's location. He really needed to find a way to end this and fast. Unfortunately, he was dodging more attacks than he was giving. Each time Black Beetle managed to deflect one of Wally's attacks, and knock him across the room, Wally stood back up in an instant, which infuriated the alien.

"Cease your futile effort speedster, and allow me to end your pathetic life!" Black Beetle called out in anger.

"Mmm, I'm going to go with a no on that one," Wally retorted as he continued to dodge plasma blasts.

All of a sudden Black Beetle stopped firing his plasma canon. Wally looked over at his foe, expecting to see him changing to a different weapon, only to see something else entirely. Wally stopped running and he was fairly certain his jaw hit the floor. Black Beetle's body had started convulsing, _and is he melting!?_

Yes, Black Beetle was effectively melting. What Wally did not know, that others may have suspected but would never be able to prove, was that Black beetle had been his own undoing. The particular timeline that he had unintentionally landed in was one where his scarab had been destroyed. In other circumstances, such as Bart's, who arrived in a world where he hadn't even been born, this would not have been a problem. The issue arose because Black Beetle himself had a living counterpart. The combination of a dead existence and a living one caused something to go wrong. As though a paradox had been created, Black Beetle and his scarab faded from existence, as though they had never set foot in that timeline in the first place. It was a painless fate unbefitting the tyrant.

"What the...," Wally head a hoarse voice say from his left.

He tore his eyes away from the scene before him to see Dick supporting a far more coherent looking Bart. The injured pair were staring with wide eyes at the rapidly disappearing Black Beetle. Wally turned back just as the alien completely vanished from existence.

Complete silence enveloped the ruins of Mount Justice and Wally could hear his erratic heart beat in his ears. In hindsight he would likely say that his head just needed a few minutes to process everything that had just happened, from losing the Time Machine in the future, to Black Beetle's apparent death. In the end he barely got thirty seconds before a small, yellow clad speedster ran straight into him.

"I thought you were dead," Bart mumbled into Wally's chest, "I though you weren't coming back."

"I made it," Wally replied with a smile as he returned Bart's hug just as fiercely.

Dick walked over to the pair a lot slower than Bart had moved and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. Wally let go of Bart and grinned up at his best friend, but upon noticing Dick's knowing smirk it quickly turned to a frown.

"You don't look surprised in the slightest," he noted grimly before sighing in exasperation and turning to his cousin, "Bart! Did you tell him?"

"You were late!" Bart argued.

"Don't blame Bart, I figured it out," Dick said with a cocky grin.

Wally couldn't help but smile back as Dick pulled him into a hug.

"I'm glad you're not dead," Dick said quietly before letting Wally go, "Speaking of which, Artemis is going to be so mad at you. So very, very mad. I'd start running if I was you Flash Boy."

"Um…," Wally gulped as several thoughts raced through his mind including how his loved ones would react upon discovering his return, however he thought of a more important question and asked it in an uncertain voice, "How long have I been gone?"

"Nearly 6 months," Dick answered.

"I am so dead."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be called "Our Revels now are Ended" and will be the final chapter of 'A Tempest of Ash'.
> 
> BUT, before you get upset, don't forget I will be writing the spin-off about Jason's life in Bart's timeline.
> 
> Please leave a review if you've enjoyed the story thus far :)


	16. Our Revels now are Ended

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wally is finally home and reunited with his loved ones!  
> But is there more to this story?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was beta'd by the wonderful Shinigami Merchant over on FF.net

**Chapter 16 – Our Revels now are Ended**

Dick couldn't help the Cheshire like grin that stretched across his face as he teased his best friend.

"I am so dead," Wally announced, "give it to me straight, on a scale of one to ten, how mad is she?"

And by she Wally meant Artemis, his girlfriend, who for the past six months had believed him to be dead.

"Ten!" Bart said as he started to laugh.

"Hey, hey, it's not that bad," Dick said, still smiling at the terrified look on Wally's face, "But six months is a really long time."

Dick saw Wally visibly gulp at the idea, which really just made him want to laugh, but Bart was still chuckling beside him and that was already riling Wally up enough.

"Yeah… Really long time," Wally responded, "… She hasn't moved on has she?"

Dick gave Wally a face that said as clear as day 'you're joking right?'

"Okay, good. So there's no new muscly boyfriend I have to worry about."

"Yeah, because Artemis has spent all that time _grieving you_ ," Bart taunted, deciding to join Nightwing in his teasing of Wally.

Wally's face visibly fell. And Bart started to laugh again.

"She's going to be so mad… But she'll be a little happy, right? It's not like she'll hate me forever?"

Dick and Bart just stared at the train wreck that was Wally's thoughts and didn't say a word to ease his 'suffering'.

"She's going to hate me. Six months is a really, really, really long time. Why couldn't I have made it back on the right date?!"

As Wally continued to have a melt down over guessing what Artemis's reaction might be, Dick's communicator started beeping in his ear.

"Nightwing this is Superboy, do you copy?" The ever neutral-toned voice of Conner sung in his ear.

_Oh, right, I called for backup._

"Nightwing come in, do you copy?" Superboy asked again.

"Hey Superboy this is Nightwing," Dick answered in a serious yet cheerful voice.

"What's the situation? Why do you need backup?"

" _Did_ need. Situations resolved itself. You can head back and we'll rendezvous at the Watchtower."

"Are you sure everything's fine? Blue said the Scarab was picking up some weird energy readings the closer we got to your location."

"Really, everything's fine. I'll explain everything back at the Watchtower."

There was a pause and Dick wondered if Superboy was going to continue to question his word when the com crackled to life again.

"Alright. But Blue was arguing with his scarab about something and he just jumped ship and flew ahead. He'll probably be at your location in a few minutes."

"Ok, we'll wait for him to arrive before we leave. Oh, and do you know if Artemis is at the Watchtower right now?"

"She was there when we left, why?"

"…It's a surprise."

"Seriously? Fine, Beast Boy and I will meet you back at the Watchtower. Superboy out."

Dick turned back to his friends and grinned at them.

"Looks like it's time to face the music Wally," he said as he slapped him on the shoulder, "We just have to wait for Blue Beetle then we'll zeta to the Watchtower."

"Awesome," Wally chuckled nervously, "But why exactly is Blue Beetle coming here?"

"I'm not entirely sure," Dick replied, "but hey, it'll be like a dry run to see how everyone's going to react to our little surprise."

"There he is," Bart piped up while pointing to the sky.

"This will be interesting to say the least," Dick mused.

Blue Beetle landed in front of the group and didn't say a word. He just stared at Wally with his mouth hanging open.

"Yo Blue, snap out of it," Bart said as he zipped to his friend's side and waved in front of his face.

"But he died," Jaime finally said while pointing at Wally.

"Hi, yes, not exactly," Wally looked slightly unnerved from being stared at despite the goofy grin on his face.

"But the scarab said you died. [ _I did not say that Jaime Reyes._ ] Yes you did," Jaime turned slightly as though talking to someone directly behind him, "[ _I did not._ ] Yes you did! [ _I said the Kid Flash ceased._ ] That means died. [ _No, there is another meaning._ ] That word doesn't have two meanings!"

Dick, Wally and Bart awkwardly flicked their gazes between each other and their friend who was obviously having an argument with the beetle attached to his spine.

"Maybe we should go," Dick spoke up, "We don't want Conner and Gar beating us to the Watchtower now do we."

"Wait, does anyone else know you're alive? How are you alive?" Blue Beetle queried.

"It's a long story," Wally replied.

"That we'll explain in full with everyone later," Dick promised, "but the short version is time travel. Now let's get going."

Within a minute the group were on their way to the nearest Zeta-Tube just over in Happy Harbour. Dick had taken charge of the situation and gotten them moving because he was incredibly excited. This was what he'd been working towards for months – bringing Wally home. Now all he wanted was to see Wally reunited with his loved ones. As he looked over at his best friend he smiled. Wally and Bart were having a strange conversation that Dick didn't quite understand.

"Did you ever speak with Nathaniel here?" Wally asked.

"Nah, that'd be too weird," Bart answered.

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"He was crazy anyway"

"More than a few loose screws."

"Pretty sure he didn't have any screws."

The pair laughed at their inside joke. Dick thought it would have been odd to see Wally and Bart's changed relationship when considering their escapades in the future, but instead it looked right.

_It's like everything's back to normal._

For the first time in forever, Dick felt truly happy.

* * *

Artemis was feeling glum. She had been staring at the screen in front of her for a while now, but she wasn't actually paying any attention to what it said; she was off in her thoughts. Nightwing had radioed in not that long ago to request back-up for some unknown reason. Conner, Jaime and Garfield had left to find out what was wrong. Artemis was, in all honesty, just waiting for news. That, and doing what she did every day – try her hardest to not think of Wally.

"Artemis are you even listening to me?" Artemis quickly turned around to face Robin. He had apparently started talking to her while she was off in her head.

"Oh, sorry Robin… What did you need?"

"I said, is there any news on what was happening with Nightwing?" Tim pointed at the screen Artemis had previously been staring at, "Conner's on his way back."

Artemis read the screen and finally saw that Conner had sent a message through saying they were returning, but that's all it said. No mention of Nightwing or why he'd needed back-up. Suddenly, the Zeta-Tube activated and started spurting out a bunch of names.

"Recognised, Nightwing B01, Blue Beetle B22, Kid Flash B23, Kid Flash B03."

Artemis barely had a second to comprehend what she had just heard when she felt someone grab her face and press their lips to hers. Naturally, her reflexes kicked in and she punched the offending person square in the jaw. It was at approximately that moment that her brain caught up with her ears, with assistance from her eyes. She felt like a deer caught in headlights as she stared wide-eyed at the familiar red haired man who was rubbing his cheek.

_Wally?_

Without a word, Artemis grabbed Wally by the collar and pulled him into another kiss.

_You're here. You're here. Where were you? ... Where the hell have you been!?_

Artemis pushed Wally to arm's length, breaking off their kiss. Still holding his collar with one hand, she proceeded to sock him in the jaw again – although not as hard as the first time. As Wally's head came back to face her, she glared at him darkly before pulling him back in for another kiss. Not long later she pulled away (well as much as she could with Wally holding her waist) and stared into his eyes.

"Where the hell have you been?" Artemis finally asked – the first words she'd spoken to him in six months.

"It's… a long story," Wally replied, "Involves time travel and bad guys, you know, the usual."

"Get a room you two," Bart said as he suddenly appeared at their side.

"Ok Nightwing spill, what's this 'surprise'?" Conner queried as he and Beast Boy arrived, only to trail off upon noticing a certain not dead speedster, "What… That you… Wally?"

'In the flesh," Wally answered with a grin.

Conner and Garfield held similar shocked expressions on their faces and the latter broke out of his funk first and tackled Wally in a hug.

"You're not dead. You're alive! How are you alive? Were you ever even dead?' Garfield fired off his thoughts at a quick pace before relinquishing his hold of Wally only to death stare Dick, "What did I say about faking deaths!"

"It wasn't like that," Nightwing defended.

"Nightwing didn't do anything," Wally spat out at the same time; he grabbed Garfield by the shoulder before the young man did anything drastic… Like turn into a T-Rex or something, "It wasn't his fault."

"Then what happened?" Conner asked as he finally approached Wally and tentatively put a hand on his shoulder, only to be pulled into a hug.

"I missed you too Conner," Wally supplied for the clone who was more than happy to return the hug of the friend he once thought was dead.

"Hugs are all well and good, but when are you going to tell us what happened to you?" Artemis asked while placing a hand on her boyfriend's shoulder.

Wally opened his mouth to answer but was cut off by Nightwing.

"We'll tell you everything, I swear, but first, I think there are a lot more people we need to call. They're all going to want to hear this, and they're definitely going to want to know you're alive."

* * *

When Nightwing said 'a lot', Wally really didn't think he meant 'the entire Justice League and the team', but that's exactly who he, Bart and Dick had ended up standing in front of to explain how exactly Wally was still alive. Wally was sure from the look Batman gave him that he'd be submitting a far more detailed report later, along with undergoing a series of tests and examinations, but for the time being everyone else was content with the tale they'd been told and asked no further questions. At the end of the explanation, however, the gathered crowd did give Wally a thunderous applause (for what exactly he wasn't sure). M'gann was the first to get up and hug him, tears streaming down her face as she told him how happy she was that he was alive. And that was roughly how the next hour progressed for Wally – everyone from Wonder Girl to Batman expressing how glad they were that he was ok.

Though the best moment for Wally by far was when a pair of red clad arms he'd long come to associate with complete and utter safety embraced him. His Uncle Barry was blubbering just as badly as M'gann had, if not worse. And if Wally was being totally honest, that was the moment when he finally let himself relax and truly believe that this was real – he was home. The reunions went on for what felt like hours to Wally, but he really couldn't be happier. All these people were his family and he'd been missing them for a long time – perhaps since before his trip to the future.

Gradually the crowd thinned as everyone returned to their lives. He and Artemis were talking with Kaldur, Conner and Dick; Tim, Jaime and Bart were nearby while Black Canary and Batman were off in a corner discussing something. Suddenly a small alarm started beeping on the computer Canary was using.

"What's that?" Wally asked and hoped his voice didn't betray the fear he felt that something was about go wrong and that his return home would be ruined by some impending doom.

"It's the Red Hood again," Black Canary replied.

"Who's the Red Hood?" Garfield asked.

"As far as we can tell he's the Light's newest operative," Kaldur explained, "So far he has been seen with three key members of the Light on separate occasions."

"Make that four," Canary interrupted, "We just received new intel. This time he's been spotted working with Lex Luthor."

"His first appearance was at Ra's al Ghul's side," Batman interjected, "The League can find no trace of him before then, however we do not believe that he is a member of the League of Shadows."

"Sounds like this Red Hood is your latest conundrum," Nightwing suggested, "But why haven't I heard of him?"

"I suppose we've been keeping him quiet. Somewhat intentionally, but just until we know more about him," Canary assured, "In fact, Kaldur, Artemis and Conner are the ones in charge of the investigation."

"And so far all we really know is that he has an affinity for guns," Artemis remarked.

"And that he is connected to Ra's al Ghul, Queen Bee, Klarion and now also Lex Luthor," Kaldur continued.

"Basically we know he's bad news," Conner finished.

Wally and Bart shared a knowing look but Wally simply shook his head to tell Bart not to say anything. There was no way for them to know if this was the Red Hood Bart had once known, or someone else entirely. The information they possessed, while it could benefit the investigation, it could also prove to have disastrous consequences.

_The best thing to do is keep quiet. At least for now._

* * *

**THE END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you each and every person who has taken the time to read this story. I hope you've enjoyed it just as much as I've enjoyed writing it. And a special thank you to everyone who has reviewed at some point, you've truly helped me stay motivated.
> 
> I have so many mixed feelings now this story is over, but the tale will go on! As I've previously mentioned, I will be writing a **spin-off** about the Red Hood in Bart's timeline.
> 
> After that I'm going to take some time to plan out a sort of **sequel** to this story. It will start up pretty much where this fic ended, and if you picked up on the obvious hints in this final chapter, it will be about the Red Hood who will be working for the light. At the moment I plan to have the story mostly revolve around Jason, Bart, Tim and Jaime with plenty of others being around too now that we're out of the future.
> 
> So stay tuned folks!
> 
> And again, thank you so very much for reading A Tempest of Ash.
> 
> ~MiriB
> 
>  **Edit 24/06/2016:** The first chapter of the spin-off/prequel has been posted, the story is called "What's Past is Prologue". Sequel still in the works :)


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